Done Deal in Dennis

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="257"] Chad Contonio, Negotiator and Steve Buss, Chapter Chair/Negotiator[/caption]

Town of Dennis employees recently ratified a new three year contract with 2% wage increases each year.  They also won an increase in longevity, an allowance for protective boots (previously this benefit was not provided to supervisors) and an annual sick time buy back of up to five days. Great job by the bargaining team, Steve Buss, chapter chair, Chad Contonio and Tom Sisson, for negotiating a good deal for all.

Agreement for Boston Public Health Commission Clerks and Techs Local 888 members who work at the Boston Public Health Commission (Clerks and Techs Chapter) ratified a new contract on March 28.  Latanya Williams, who is a steward and also served on the negotiating team, says that the agreement was a long time coming. “We’ve been without a contract for over two years. We’ve worked hard to get our members better benefits.  I feel we have a stronger contract than we have had in the past.”  The vote was unanimous. Congratulations to the clerks and techs for their perseverance.

BPD Chapter’s Unfair Labor Practice Charge Upheld by Labor Department Last fall, the Boston Police Department unilaterally transferred the duties of driving the crime scene lighting truck from Local 888 employees to the Boston Police Patrolmen’s union. Thanks to a recent Department of Labor Relations (DLR) decision, the BPD may have to return that work to Local 888 members, and bargain in accordance with the law before such work is removed in the future. At a hearing, union representatives argued that not only had the transfer resulted in a significant loss of pay to Local 888 members but that the union had never been given the opportunity to bargain over the issue. The DLR announced last month that it had found probable cause to issue a complaint against the BPD. The DLR will now hear the full case.

Chelsea Soldiers Home Announces Annual Performance Awards The annual Performance Recognition Awards were recently announced by the Chelsea Soldiers Home. Award winners for 2013 are acting food services supervisor Daniel Chapman, Gilberto Perez, Yu Xie and Rosa Matias of the housekeeping department, and the Blizzard of 2013 Snow Removal Team. The awards are presented by the Soldiers Home to thank the outstanding employees who demonstrate exemplary leadership, strong commitment and an extraordinary work ethic. Congratulations to all for receiving this honor.

Win in Wachusett Applied behavioral assistants employed by the Wachusett Regional School District (Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland, and Sterling) ratified a one-year extension of their current agreement on April 22.  The school district agreed to move everyone up one step, which results in about a 3.5 percent increase.  Members will also be able to use up to five sick days to attend to a family illness. The contract for approximately 50 members was ratified unanimously.