Public Works employees set to get 3% pay hikes

By Matt Chiappardi, Staff Writer
   EAST WINDSOR — About 20 Public Works employees who have been working without a contract for nearly two years are in line for 3 percent annual raises.
   The Township Council on Wednesday approved a four-year contract with Teamsters Local 469, which represents the township’s non-managerial Public Works employees, and introduced an ordinance to formalize their salaries.
   The ordinance, which grants annual 3 percent raises retroactive to Jan. 1, 2006 — was introduced with a 5-0 vote, as Deputy Mayor Walter Daniels and Councilman Marc Lippman did not attend the meeting.
   ”It’s a fair contract for township employees, and we’re happy for it to move along,” Mayor Janice Mironov said after the meeting.
   Salaries for the employees would range from nearly $40,000 annually for custodians, the position with the lowest pay grade, up to about $60,000 annually for heavy equipment operators, the position with the highest pay grade.
   Ms. Mironov attributed the length of the talks to negotiations over the health benefits.
   ”We were looking for consistency in health benefits among all the union employees in the township,” she said Thursday.
   Union representative Bill O’Keefe did not return calls from the Herald seeking comment.
   The benefits mirror those enjoyed by police officers who came to contract terms with the township in September, according to the mayor. Public Works employees are now responsible for a $10 copay for doctor’s office visits, a $7 copay for name-brand prescription drugs, a $5 copay for generics, and a $150 vision reimbursement. They also would get unlimited visits to a chiropractor and have no price cap on mental health or alcohol and drug rehabilitation.
   Out of network reimbursements would drop from 80 percent to 70 percent.
   A public hearing on the salary ordinance is scheduled for the council’s next meeting, Nov 27.