Mayor Michelle Wu gives remarks at a signing ceremony for AFSCME Council 93 and SEIU Local 888 contracts at the Mayor’s Office in City Hall. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the city’s two largest civilian unions inked a four-year agreement Thursday that deliberately pays out higher-percentage salary increases to the lowest-paid municipal employees.
The city’s new contract with AFSCME Council 93 and SEIU Local 888, which together represent more than 1,700 employees across 28 departments, includes wage increases ranging from 10-15% over four years. The percentage is dependent on individual income.
While it dishes out the annual 2% cost-of-living-increase, each employee, regardless of their income, receives a yearly base wage increase of $500. That computes to a higher bump for lower-paid employees, such as those making under $60,000, which represents roughly half of each union’s workforce, the mayor said.
“Settling two big contracts is in and of itself cause to celebrate,” Wu said at a City Hall press conference, where she signed the new collective bargaining agreements. “But today is also special because these contracts set a new first for our city.”
“We set out to lift the floor for our workforce, especially the workers who make $60,000 or less, about 50% of each union membership,” Wu said, adding that was done “to meet the goal of giving each worker a fair, dignified and living wage.”
The contract, for the first time, allows for sick and bereavement leave for employees during their six-month probationary period, a condition that drew applause when it was announced by the mayor.
It also provides the option for a four-day work week provided that employees work the same hours they would over five days, a term that was described as being geared toward their “mental-health” and “work-life-balance” priorities.
The two unions represent city workers in departments that include public works, parks and recreation, inspectional services, centers for youth and families, the registry and elections, among others.
“We negotiated a contract that was fair and equitable across the board,” said Ed Nastari, director of field service and organizing for AFSCME Council 93.
Thomas McKeever, president of SEIU Local 888, described the deal as a “historic” one that brought the lowest-paid city employees “closer to a living wage.”
Chris “Tiger” Stockbridge, AFSCME president, said that while the union didn’t get everything it wanted and had to make some concessions, the contract and the administration’s decision to bring back joint-labor management meetings shows that Wu, who he called the “best labor mayor in 30 years,” is “listening to us.”
He spoke to how quickly the agreement was reached after the last contract expired last October.
“Dignity and respect — that’s what these jobs are about,” Stockbridge said. “The money’s great, too, don’t get me wrong, but you want a job that you want to come to every day, and I appreciate you getting us back to where we need to be. We’ve still got a ways to go, but we’re getting there every day.”
