A new three-year contract between the Village of Oxford and AFSME Local 2720 ? the union which represents the community’s five full-time Department of Publics Works employees ? was approved and signed last week.
The contract runs from July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2007 and calls for a total pay increase of 10 percent over that period, beginning with a 4 percent increase the first year followed by 3 percent increases for the second and third years.
It’s projected the contract will cost the village a total of $921,075 over the next three years.
‘I think we negotiated a fair contract for both sides,? said village council President Renee Donovan.
‘I think we’re all real happy with it,? said Union Steward Rudy Reyes. ‘We weren’t looking for a lot and the village wasn’t looking for a lot either. There was pretty good give-and-take.?
The previous contract had expired March 1, 2004 and in lieu of retroactive pay, the union agreed to a one-time lump sum payment of $375 for each of the five full-time employees/union members, which totals approximately $2,300 when FICA, worker’s compensation and pension costs are added in.
Under the new contract, the employee pay plan was modified to insert an additional year, requiring three years on the job to reach the top pay in each job classification.
Previously, only two years was necessary.
A new two-to-three year-step was inserted with a pay amount of one-half the difference from the one-to-two-year step and the new top step, which is now three years and up (as opposed to the previous two years and up).
Benefit changes include the addition of a ‘longevity? payment of $375 after five years of service.
The payment will be increased by $375 for each additional five years of service until a maximum amount of $1,500 if paid out for 20 years.
Also under the new contract, the maximum number accumulated sick days a union member can receive a payout for was reduced from 30 to 24 days.