Township employees get new contract

Contract retroactive to January 2000

By:Vanessa S. Holt
   FLORENCE — A six-year contract, retroactive to January 2000, was ratified by township employees in Local 1034 of the Communications Workers of America last month after almost two years of negotiations.
   Negotiations centered mainly on the wording of the contract, which was approved by a 32-5 vote by union members Sept. 11, said union representative Florence McNamara.
   "Language was a pretty big issue with the workers," said Ms. McNamara. "There are five groups looking to have a contract designed to take care of their individual needs by department."
   The five different groups within the union are blue-collar employees, clerical workers, water and sewer workers, crossing guards and dispatchers. They had previously been grouped under one heading but now each group has a separate individual agreement under the general contract.
   "We were not surprised when a group approached the union and said they had a contract 15 or 16 years, and it worked, but now they wanted something different," she said.
   Bargaining between individual department supervisors and management took place over a period of nearly two years. The old contract expired Dec. 31, 1999.
   Under the new contract, employees will have health coverage at more locations with the State Health Care Plan, which offers members a choice of insurance companies.
   Employees will receive retroactive pay for 3-percent raises in 2000 and 2001. They will receive 4-percent raises next year, 3-percent raises in 2003 and 2004 and a 4-percent raise in 2005, the year the current contact is set to expire.
   Ms. McNamara said they had expected negotiations to be lengthy because of the many detailed revisions that were needed.
   "Each session was very productive," said Ms. McNamara. "Problems were dealt with directly at the table."
   Mayor Michael Muchowski sat in on many of the sessions and each department head participated in negotiations, said Ms. McNamara.
   "They brought knowledgeable people to the table, there were no stalling tactics and they responded to questions immediately," she said.
   CWA Local 1034, based in Trenton, represents communications workers in state, judicial, county, municipal, private sector and healthcare jobs.