Congratulations to the Mount Vernon City OCSEA bargaining team whose union team leaders recently negotiated a successful three-year contract. The members of the city workforce voted unanimously to approve the contract earlier this month. The city employees work in water; wastewater; water office billing; street maintenance; meter reading; cemetery, parks, buildings, and land; and engineering.
"We went in strong because we knew the city police and fire had already bargained, and we had ammunition to fight for what we needed to focus on recruitment and retention," said Chris Hagner, a negotiation team member and president of Chapter 4210. Chris said there was initial push back by management, as is the case with most bargaining situations. "Ultimately we were able to justify the value of paying our members what they deserve," said Chris.
Not only was the union team able to negotiate a 15% increase over three years (5%,5%,5%), but they were also successful in bargaining a base adjustment increase that meant 11-15% additional increase dependent upon classification. Mount Vernon City union employees will see the increase, retroactive to July 7, 2024, in this Friday's paycheck. Additionally, the team bargained a longevity stipend and an increase to shift differential, all putting more money in members' pockets.
On top of that, the team was able to bargain increases in vacation, personal leave, and sick leave. Additionally, retirement conversion will now align with that of police and fire, and management-provided life insurance will increase from $15,000 to $50,000. The team also saw improvements in dental and vision and bargained an increase for work boots. A minor takeaway is that new hires will be required to pay back any cost of associated with CDL training if they leave employment before two years.
"I'm just really proud of the team and all they did to represent the members," said Chris. "I think that everybody put in a good and equal effort, and they were looking out for their coworkers," he said.
"This is one of the best local government contracts we’ve ever seen in the history of OCSEA, and it was good to work with management that was on board," said Staff Representative and lead negotiator Jim Beverly. He says the contract focuses on growing a living wage, retaining and building quality staff, and drawing more people from the outside to build their careers in Mount Vernon. "It will be a guide for contracts to come," he said.
The union bargaining team consisted of Chris Hagner, Jack Boyd, Kevin McGarvey, Jenifer Roddy and Jim Beverly (Staff, lead negotiator).
View the Mount Vernon City Contract HERE.