6.5% raise proposed for union employees
CHENEY – The City Council deliberated on contract negotiations for pay raises and family sick leave for employees during its Jan. 9 meeting.
City Manager Mark Schuller took the stage to present the proposal and to explain the new state law for paid family medical leave.
Family leave is up to 12 weeks for a qualifying event, such as a serious illness, an injury, or the birth or adoption of a child, and potentially up to 16 weeks if there is more than one event, he said.
Once a worker has accumulated 820 hours with one employer, they are eligible for the state’s paid family medical leave.
“Since we are an employer of over 50 people, we have to provide FMLA leave and leave their position open for them if they’ve worked 820 hours,” Schuller said.
However, there is a caveat.
“You’re not accruing sick leave, vacation days or retirement while you’re on PFML leave,” he said.
Schuller explained there is a need to increase the wages of union employees 6.5% to stay competitive with other cities in the region.
“Their pay has lagged behind other comparable cities,” he said.
“The two we were the most behind in were clerical, who work in finance, plus our waste water treatment workers were about 16% behind.
“We want to make sure they’re paid competitively to other cities in the region.”
Schuller emphasized the need for longevity in city employee ranks..
“We want to retain our employees,” he said. “We need to protect our people and keep them here.”
The raise issue drew questions from the council
“We’re talking about increasing the rate of pay 18% over the next three years,” Councilman Mark Posthuma said. “Is that to get ahead?”
“It’s to keep pace with other cities,” Schuller replied.
The proposed pay raises represent a $202,279.57 increase from last year’s payroll, which totaled $916,617.21.
The highest paid union
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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