AMHERST — Giving Department of Public Works employees incentives to pursue licenses that could advance their careers, and resetting the wage scale for these workers, are among the new features in contracts recently ratified by employee unions.
The contracts with the Amherst Public Works Association, which includes 39 employees, and Amherst Public Works Supervisors Association, with 20 employees, are two of four recently settled labor pacts, said Human Resources Director Deborah Radway.
The others are Amherst Firefighters Local 1764, which has 46 employees, and the Service Employees International 888, with 67 employees, according to Radway.
All four contracts, which expired June 30, are three-year deals running from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2019, except for the firefighters, which will run for just two years and expires June 30, 2018.
“I think this year has had particularly positive outcomes and approaches to renewing the contracts, and we’re in a good place,” Radway said.
The town remains in negotiations with the Amherst Police League patrol officers union and the Amherst Police Supervisors Union. Their contracts also expired June 30. Radway said she hopes the parties can reach agreements soon.
“I’m optimistic. I don’t think there are major areas of disagreement,” Radway said, adding that management has a great deal of respect for both police unions.
Of those settled, Radway said the DPW will have the most adjustments, noting that it is increasingly difficult to find qualified and interested workers for those jobs in western Massachusetts.
“It’s much harder to recruit and retain in the Pioneer Valley,” Radway said. “We felt it was time to be in a more competitive place to recruit.”
Robert Delgado, president of both DPW unions, said the contracts , which will be signed Monday, will do a lot of good for the laborers.
“The biggest change is the significant increase in the starting salaries for all DPW positions in the new pay scale,” Delgado said.
Radway explained that the contract renegotiated the entire wage scale so that new employees are paid more and the ratio among steps is smaller.
“We brought up the entry level to make it a little more competitive,” Radway said.
The adjustment means workers will get between 2 and 2.8 percent pay increases this year, which will return to 2 percent adjustments on July 1, 2017 and July 1, 2018, Radway said.
The contract also gives employees reason to pursue various licenses needed to do more complex work, such as commercial drivers licenses, hoist licenses and water and sewer licenses.
“We provided incentive to advance by providing additional amounts to their base salaries for licenses not required for positions, but required for working above their grade,” Radway said.
Radway said the firefighters contract calls for a 2 percent cost of living adjustments both years, with the only major change an increase in stipends for emergency medical technicians. The contract maintains a “staffing philosophy” of eight firefighters minimum on duty at all times.
Members of the SEIU representing emergency dispatchers, parking enforcement officers and support staff at the Town Hall, Jones Library and other municipal buildings, will also received a 2 percent cost-of-living increase in all three years.
Jennifer Reynolds, president of SEIU, said in an email that members of the union are pleased. “We fought very hard and had a great negotiating team,” Reynolds said.
There are various changes to the contract, including having all members receive $25 annual parking permits for free, being able to use sick time for nontraditional household members and increasing the so-called boot allowance by $25 for those required to wear uniforms, Reynolds said.
Radway said she appreciates that the contract negotiations have gone well.
“Amherst is really fortunate to have all of its employees dedicated to public service and to being collaborative and working toward the goal of making it the best possible place to work,” Radway said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
