 Posted: Wed, Jul 29 2009, 9:53 pm EDT Post subject: Re: Middlesex County, workers' union agree on a wage freeze to avoid layoffs |
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What was the average raise for private sector workers in 2008?
Doesn't seem like such a bad deal for the union workers - guaranteed raises in this economy is a good thing! |
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| Posted: Wed, Jul 29 2009, 9:52 pm EDT Post subject: Re: Middlesex County, workers' union agree on a wage freeze to avoid layoffs |
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It looks like even our freeholders knew that NJ is in the middle of a economic crisis and passed budget wage freezes instead of giving an accross the board pay raises like Cranbury did this year. |
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| Posted: Wed, Jul 29 2009, 9:21 pm EDT Post subject: Middlesex County, workers' union agree on a wage freeze to avoid layoffs |
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| Middlesex County, workers' union agree on a wage freeze to avoid layoffs
by Tom Haydon/The Star-Ledger Wednesday July 29, 2009, 5:42 PM Sue Beyer/Express-Times Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in a statewide protest against Gov. Jon Corzine's budget proposal that called for wage freezes, furloughs and layoffs. Union members in Middlesex County today approved a contract that would freeze wages in 2009 to avoid layoffs. MIDDLESEX COUNTY -- The County and its largest union have reached an agreement on a new four-year contract that calls for a wage freeze during the first year. Approximately 800 workers represented by the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees approved the new agreement that includes a wage freeze for 2009, then increases of 2 percent, 3 percent and 3 3/4 percent for the next three years, county Administrator John Pulomena said. The county's assistant prosecutors approved a similar contract, and five other unions are expected to ratify the same wage package within the next three weeks, Pulomena said. Earlier this year, officials budgeted for a wage freeze for all of the approximately 2,000 county employees, both union and non-union. Contracts with the township's 23 bargaining units expired December. Negotiations are continuing with most unions, but the county has entered mediation with Police Benevolent Association Local 165, which represents Middlesex County sheriff's officers, officials said. As part of the agreements, employee co-payment for prescription drugs will increase to a maximum of $5 from the current $3. Deputy Freeholder Director Christopher Rafano, chairman of the administration and finance committee, said the agreements hold down costs for taxpayers and avoids layoffs. "This says a lot about the union memberships recognizing the tough economic times. We have been able to keep our workers and not have furloughs," Rafano said. County officials project a $4 million savings through the wage freeze. Similar union concessions are being seen across the state and country, said Adrienne Eaton, a professor and director of Labor Studies and Employee Relations at Rutgers University. "All the state unions have agreed to re-open their contracts," Eaton said. "In the public sector, unions are extracting agreements for no layoffs. The financial situations are so dire that unions are looking to do what they can." Even the 2 percent wage hike in the second year of the county contract is small, Eaton said. "The total numbers are pretty modest compared to what we had been seeing," Eaton said. County workers last received an average 4 percent to 4 1/2 percent wage increase in 2008, officials said http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/middlesex_county_union_reach_a.html |
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