AFSCME union votes on new contract

6/27/2014

Members of Toledo’s largest municipal union are voting today on a new three-year contract, the first full-term contract to be negotiated by Mayor D. Michael Collins.

The administration and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 7 concluded negotiations Wednesday. About 800 city workers are eligible to cast a ballot today until 6 p.m. at AFSCME’s union hall on Reynolds Road.

While the tentative details remain under wraps, the agreement appears to have been reached with minimal friction. Negotiations took several weeks and were concluded even before the current contract expires on Monday.

In March, the Collins administration negotiated a wage reopener that gave Local 7 workers a 2.5 percent raise retroactive to Jan. 1, that will cost taxpayers an extra $1.4 million this year.

The last AFSCME Local 7 contract, passed in 2011, froze wages for the first two years and shifted medical and pension costs to employees.