Council tables fire union contract
WATERVLIET, N.Y. >> City officials said they are pleased they were able to settle a new contract with the Civil Service Employees Association.
However, for a second time a decision to vote on a new contract agreement with the fire union was tabled Thursday night.
“The CSEA one was on the agenda and was approved Thursday night,” said Mayor Michael Manning on Friday morning
Manning said the city’s Uniformed Firefighters Association remains unsettled after Council- man Charles Patricelli requested to table the decision again and seek outside legal opinion on the contract agreement.
“Due to the complexity of the contract and his newness, Charles requested a third-party legal opinion on the contract,” explained Manning. “We contract a labor legal service from the firm Goldberger & Kremer and we have them on retainer for various reasons, so we requested a review and that is starting to get underway now and they should be looking at it with us by sometime next week.”
Patricelli said he had a few questions related to some details of the fire union contract, and he wanted to seek an outside opinion.
“I wasn’t satisfied with some of the answers that I got,” explained Patricelli on Friday afternoon.“I wasn’t satisfied with some of the information that I got and I needed to have a little bit more detailed analysis before I could make that kind of decision.I don’t know if this is a good deal yet and I wanted to get a little bit more information on it. Once I get that information, I feel that I can make a better decision on whether or not the city can go forward or if the city cannot afford the new contract.”
Manning said after receiving outside legal opinion next week that he then anticipates being able to vote on the contract agreement during the regular scheduled City Council meeting May 4. Manning also pointed out that the current fire union contract expired just this year.
“We probably would have had the CSEA one done last year, but they get legal counsel support from their head office and in the middle of discussions that happened to be without an attorney,” said Manning.
Manning said as part of the CSEA contract agreement, employees will receive a 1 percent non-retroactive salary increase as part of the new multi-year
agreement. He said that there are some changes to the employee’s health insurance coverage.
“Over the last couple of years at budget time, we’ve run into where we needed to change the health insurance program and that basically needed to be revoted on by the unions every time,” said Manning. “In these new contracts we have wordage that allows us to change that without having to make it an opening of the contract, and there’s increases to the amount of employee contribution to the health insurance.”
The police union is working in the last year of its contract, but city officials said that they are glad that another union contract has now been settled.
“It’s good to always have them settled because it’s something that hangs over everyone’s heads while they are trying to get other work done,” said Manning.
“A contract is usually give and take on both sides and I thought that there was some give and take on both sides and I am glad it was settled,” added Patricelli.