Bus drivers and building workers in Robbinsdale School District 281 returned to work Wednesday after overwhelmingly ratifying a new contract that ended their seven-day strike.
The new contract includes pay raises totaling $1.10 an hour over two years, higher district contributions toward health insurance, a cap on the number of employees who can be classified as part-time, and salary premiums for workers who gain extra skill certification, said Shane Allers, executive director of the union.
Because the workers had been without a contract for 17 months - since July 1999 - much of the pay increase is retroactive, Allers said. The settlement was reached after all-night, mediated negotiations until 4 a.m. Tuesday. Workers ratified the two-year contract, 177-17, in voting Tuesday afternoon at VFW Post 494 in Crystal.
'It's not everything we wanted,' Allers said, 'but it's a definite improvement over the contract we rejected last summer and a definite improvement over what was on the table when talks broke off last week. The members stuck together in a way the district didn't think they could.'
The 260 bus drivers, custodians, and buildings and grounds workers - members of Service Employees International Union Local 284 - serve 28 buildings in the western suburbs, including all or parts of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope, Plymouth and Robbinsdale. The schools enroll roughly 14,000 students.
Better insurance, pay scales
Health premiums were a key dispute in the strike. The district will continue to cap its contribution at a flat-dollar amount, but the amount goes up to roughly 73 percent for the most popular family plan, Allers said. That's an increase from the previous contract, which was about 70 percent, and from the district's proposal before the strike, which was about 63 percent, he said.
As of Jan. 1, workers typically will pay $432 a month for family coverage and $276 for single coverage, Allers said. However, the district is also creating a flexible insurance account that will provide eligible workers with up to $50 a month to offset higher premiums.
Workers will receive pay raises of 90 cents an hour immediately, with 40 cents of that retrocative to July 1, 1999, and 50 cents retroactive to July 1, 2000. A typical bus driver will now receive $11.89 an hour; full-time custodians and bus drivers will have pay scales ranging from $9.71 and $17.01 per hour. The pay scales for building technicians and other custodial categories will rise to between $8.87 and $12.15 per hour.
All workers will receive another 20-cent-an-hour raise on the last day of the contract, June 30, 2001. In addition, a handful of workers will be reclassified into higher categories.
Other improvements, Allers said, include the creation of a uniform seniority list across the bargaining unit, and language that limits the number of part-time drivers to one-third of the overall total. That means roughly 25-30 drivers will be reclassified from part time to full time.
Support from parents, community
Allers and rank-and-file members said they were buoyed by support from parents and others in the community. 'I think we revealed something about the pay structure in this district, and the parents understood that and supported us,' Allers said.
In addition, he and others said, the district's decision to deploy black-clad, private security forces from the strike-breaking firm of Huffmaster Companies, Troy, Mich., backfired.
'The fact that they hired a private security force was amazing to us, amazing to the community and amazing to the parents,' Allers said. 'It showed what their real priority was.'
Allers said Local 284 hopes to be back at the bargaining table in April and to achieve an agreement before the new contract expires June 30.
This article was written for the Dec. 20 issue of The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org
See related articles
Rally fires up Robbinsdale strikers
Bus drivers and building workers in Robbinsdale School District 281 returned to work Wednesday after overwhelmingly ratifying a new contract that ended their seven-day strike.
The new contract includes pay raises totaling $1.10 an hour over two years, higher district contributions toward health insurance, a cap on the number of employees who can be classified as part-time, and salary premiums for workers who gain extra skill certification, said Shane Allers, executive director of the union.
Because the workers had been without a contract for 17 months – since July 1999 – much of the pay increase is retroactive, Allers said. The settlement was reached after all-night, mediated negotiations until 4 a.m. Tuesday. Workers ratified the two-year contract, 177-17, in voting Tuesday afternoon at VFW Post 494 in Crystal.
‘It’s not everything we wanted,’ Allers said, ‘but it’s a definite improvement over the contract we rejected last summer and a definite improvement over what was on the table when talks broke off last week. The members stuck together in a way the district didn’t think they could.’
The 260 bus drivers, custodians, and buildings and grounds workers – members of Service Employees International Union Local 284 – serve 28 buildings in the western suburbs, including all or parts of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope, Plymouth and Robbinsdale. The schools enroll roughly 14,000 students.
Better insurance, pay scales
Health premiums were a key dispute in the strike. The district will continue to cap its contribution at a flat-dollar amount, but the amount goes up to roughly 73 percent for the most popular family plan, Allers said. That’s an increase from the previous contract, which was about 70 percent, and from the district’s proposal before the strike, which was about 63 percent, he said.
As of Jan. 1, workers typically will pay $432 a month for family coverage and $276 for single coverage, Allers said. However, the district is also creating a flexible insurance account that will provide eligible workers with up to $50 a month to offset higher premiums.
Workers will receive pay raises of 90 cents an hour immediately, with 40 cents of that retrocative to July 1, 1999, and 50 cents retroactive to July 1, 2000. A typical bus driver will now receive $11.89 an hour; full-time custodians and bus drivers will have pay scales ranging from $9.71 and $17.01 per hour. The pay scales for building technicians and other custodial categories will rise to between $8.87 and $12.15 per hour.
All workers will receive another 20-cent-an-hour raise on the last day of the contract, June 30, 2001. In addition, a handful of workers will be reclassified into higher categories.
Other improvements, Allers said, include the creation of a uniform seniority list across the bargaining unit, and language that limits the number of part-time drivers to one-third of the overall total. That means roughly 25-30 drivers will be reclassified from part time to full time.
Support from parents, community
Allers and rank-and-file members said they were buoyed by support from parents and others in the community. ‘I think we revealed something about the pay structure in this district, and the parents understood that and supported us,’ Allers said.
In addition, he and others said, the district’s decision to deploy black-clad, private security forces from the strike-breaking firm of Huffmaster Companies, Troy, Mich., backfired.
‘The fact that they hired a private security force was amazing to us, amazing to the community and amazing to the parents,’ Allers said. ‘It showed what their real priority was.’
Allers said Local 284 hopes to be back at the bargaining table in April and to achieve an agreement before the new contract expires June 30.
This article was written for the Dec. 20 issue of The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org
See related articles
Rally fires up Robbinsdale strikers