(Thursday August 22nd 2024) PLATTSBURGH, NY- After several rounds of negotiation, the City of Plattsburgh Mayor’s office and AFSCME union leadership have reached a tentative agreement for a 5-year contract renewal. The agreement has been approved by union members and is pending approval by the Common Council. The contract approval will be placed on the September 5th regular meeting agenda.
“AFSCME’s members, the work they perform for our City, and their dedication to our future is tangible and profound. Our city staff is the lifeblood of our community,” says Mayor Christopher Rosenquest. “This is the second contract my office has negotiated successfully with this union and I’m proud to say the negotiations were smooth and amicable. This is proof of the excellent relationship we’ve been able to build with this and other unions over the short time I’ve been in office.” says Mayor Rosenquest.
Jason Keable, President of AFSCME, added, “Mayor Rosenquest and the city’s attorney were and always have been great to work with through this process. Open communication and understanding on both sides were key in coming to an agreement. AFSCME membership was very pleased with the contract extension to provide the best possible service to the city taxpayers.”
This is the second contract negotiated between AFSCME and Mayor Rosenquest’s administration since 2021. In 2021 AFSCME’s contract was four years expired and renegotiated to span seven years, from July 2017 to July 2024. It included roughly $600k of retroactive pay owed to the members. AFSCME is the city’s largest union whose employees work through the majority of the city’s offices. This unit’s employees also largely make up the Department of Public Works staff.
“I have always been a proponent and supporter of our City’s working families, whether it be through this union or the three others I’ve successfully negotiated contracts with,” adds Rosenquest.
LIVABLE WAGE
Among other issues, the contract ensures the lowest wage earners start to earn a competitive and livable wage.
“As I’ve said in the past, our organization, despite benefits, pay, and promotability, is not immune to workforce competition,” Rosenquest said. “The notion that ‘nobody wants to work’ is an oversimplification of supply and demand in the job market and workforce availability in our region. For our City to provide the services we provide at the quality our residents demand, that means paying a fair wage for fair work. This contract helps to address this,” Rosenquest said.
As the tentative agreement currently stands, there will be a projected $742k increase to total wages for the terms of this agreement with just $372k of that coming from the General Fund. AFSCME wages are generally paid through the General Fund as well as Water and Sewer funds.
CONTRACT LENGTH
As with the previous contract, we looked at what a fair length would be and what the union and City would be comfortable with. As agreed upon between the City and union, the contract terms would span from July 2024 to July 2029. Changes to pay and benefits outlined in the contract would go into effect in January 2025.
RATIFICATION
The Council is expected to approve the contract at the September 5th meeting of the Regular Meeting of the Common Council.
“As in the past, the Council was made aware of contract negotiations and progress made towards coming to this agreement. On May 30th, shortly after my office and the union came to this tentative agreement, a meeting between the Council, union leadership, my office, and the City’s labor attorney was held to discuss the terms of the agreement. They were provided an overview of the discussion, the financial impact, and the high-level changes to the contract. Between that time and now neither my office nor the City’s labor attorney had fielded questions, comments, or suggestions on the agreement as presented to them,” Rosenquest adds. “Hopefully that’s an indication that they can come into this meeting in support of this well deserved and fairly negotiated agreement.”
Keable also expressed his gratitude, stating, “I thank Mayor Rosenquest for the great working relationship we’ve had throughout his tenure.”
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