New Kensington gets 3-year contract with public works, clerical employees

New Kensington officials have approved a three-year contract with the city’s union employees that gives them 2.5 % pay raises in each year of the contract.

City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said it’s the first contract negotiation and agreement that combines both the public works employees and the mostly clerical workers at offices in city hall as one bargaining unit. They are all members of the United Steelworkers.

He said the city petitioned the state Labor Department to combine the blue and white collar units as a way to expedite negotiations.

“There’s a lot of things that are similar and there are a lot of things that aren’t, but it’s all one unit now,” Scarpiniti said.

One thing that’s the same under the new agreement, which takes effect immediately, is that all 11 blue collar workers and all 11 white collar workers, including cell watchers in the police department, will be getting 2.5 percent pay raises in each year of the contract.

According to Scarpiniti, in 2018 the blue collar position wages ranged from $23.31 per hour for drivers to a high of $24.16 for mechanics and heavy equipment operators.

In the first year of the new contract, drivers will earn 58 cents more, making their hourly rate $23.89, while the heavy equipment operators will get a 60-cent boost to $24.76 per hour.

For the second year, the lower end wages will rise by 60 cents per hour to $24.49 while the upper end will increase by 62 cents to $25.38.

The final year will see the low end of the scale climb by 61 cents to $25.10 per hour while the high end will increase by 64 cents to $26.02.

Scarpiniti said white collar workers’ annual wages now range from $21,000 to $29,000. Year one of the contract will see the bottom of the scale rise by $525 while the top end will go up by $725.

In the contract’s second and third year the lower paid workers will receive pay raises of $538 and $552 while the higher paid ones will get $743 and $762.

By the end of the contract, the wage scale will range from $22,613 to $31,330.

Scarpiniti said current employees will continue to pay 10 percent of their health care premiums throughout the new contract. However, he said any employees hired now will pay the 10 percent rate for individual coverage. But if new employees want to cover a spouse or family, they will pay 20 percent of the premium, he said.

In addition, the city will pay for a low option dental plan, but Scarpiniti said the employees can opt to get a high end dental plan if they pay the cost difference.

Aside from contract language, Scarpiniti said one other major change is that there will be no designation of blue collar employees working for the parks or the streets department. All now are considered public works employees and must meet the same requirements to be hired, which is basically be a high school diploma and a commercial drivers’ license.

He said that will benefit the city because workers will be able to handle any work that has to be done day-to-day.

In exchange, Scarpiniti said city officials agreed to allow public works employees to live up to 8 air miles from the city garage rather than require them to live in the city.

He said that was not necessarily a bad thing as far as management is concerned.

“It gives us a bigger labor pool to draw from when we’re looking to hire people,” Scarpiniti said.

He said it took only one negotiating session per month since December before agreeing on the new contract March 26.