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News :: Labor |
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AFSCME Anounces Contract Agreement Between Champaign County And County Nursing Home Workers |
Current rating: 0 |
by Jerry Wright
(No verified email address) |
11 Nov 2003
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Following protracted negotiations, AFSCME members at the Champaign County Nursing Home have approved a new contract that preserves health care, grants wage increases.
Settlement is the first of seven that must be finalized between Champaign County and AFSCME. |
AFSCME Council 31 announced today that the employees of the Champaign County Nursing Home approved a new three-year contact by a ninety-(90) percent approval margin on Tuesday November 11, 2003. Jerry L. Wright, Staff Representative with AFSCME Council 31 and lead negotiator for the Union said, "We are pleased to finally have a new agreement our members feel good about and they obviously do feel good about it with a 90% approval rate. Even though we made modest gains in wages we were successful in getting the County to pay 100% of the cost of employee health insurance for FY 2004. If health insurance inflation does not exceed 17% next year the County will continue to pay 100% of the premiums in FY 2004.
Wright also said, "Wages will not go up the first year of the agreement; no benefit employees, these are employees who choose to take a much higher hourly rate of pay but have no benefits will receive a $250 signing bonus. Employees with health insurance benefits will receive retroactive payment of $516 for the difference in health insurance last year to this year. On December 1, 2003 and 2004 all employees will receive a 2% increase in wages." The insurance alone will save our members fifty cents an hour over the second year of this agreement."
The Champaign County Nursing Home contract expired on December 1, 2002, the Union and the County have continued to bargain over a new contract while keeping to old contract provisions in place for nearly a year. Wright said, "I am pleased to have the first of seven contracts the County has with AFSCME Council 31 out of the way, I hope this will make a negotiations in our other units move forward at a much quicker pace." |
