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On Wednesday,
February 21, MSD union employees voted to approve a new five-year
employment contract. Of a total of 303 eligible votes 254 cast votes
(70 percent). Votes in favor totaled 159, and 75 voted against, an
approval rate of 65 percent.
Two locals -
R5-189 representing treatment plant operators and mechanics; and,
R5-191 representing sewer maintenance workers, represent MSD's union
employees.
General
provisions of the contract include:
Wage Increase
| 2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
| 3.0% |
3.0% |
3.0% |
3.0% |
3.5% |
As an example, a
Utility Worker Class I, who currently makes $12.45 per hour will
increase in base wages to $12.82 per hour. A Utility Worker Class III
(the highest skill level), who currently makes $16.89 per hour, will
increase in base wages to $17.92.
Health &
Dental Benefit Employer/Employee Ratio
| 2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
| 80%/20% |
80%/20% |
80%/20% |
77%/23% |
75%/25% |
Other benefits
will remain consistent with past contracts.
MSD and the
unions negotiated the utility workers classes as part of the previous
contract as an incentive for raising skill levels for each employee.
More skills performed by each employee has allowed MSD to place
smaller crews in the field while raising the total number of crews at
work without increasing the workforce. (Overall, MSD has actually
decreased the number of employees from 880 to 660 in the past 5
years.)
The new contract
provides cross training by skills and geographic areas for plant
operators and technical employees. This will ensure versatility in the
event of a concentrated service outage in a particular part of the
service area, and ensures the presence of highly skilled and
experienced employees on all work shifts.
Negotiations for
the new contract lasted approximately three months and were completed
well within the time frame of the existing contract.
The MSD Board is
expected to approve the contract at its next regularly scheduled
meeting on Monday, February 25. The contract becomes effective with
Board approval.
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