St. Paul city laborers, Teamsters settle contract with retroactive pay bump

Following nearly 11 months of contract talks and multiple marathon mediation sessions, a coalition of labor unions representing some 300 city of St. Paul employees accepted a two-year contract that will offer a retroactive pay bump in the first year.

The Tri-Council represents most of the manual laborers in Parks and Recreation and Public Works, as well as heavy equipment operators, snowplow operators, forestry workers, sewer and water workers affiliated with City Employees Local 363, or LIUNA, the Laborers International Union of North America; the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49; and Teamsters 120.

Members convened Monday evening and voted to accept the latest contract offer from the city, which calls for a 1 percent wage increase retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year, a 2 percent wage increase effective January 2022 and a 0.5 percent increase effective July 1, 2022.

“It did pass. We generally don’t talk about the margins. It wasn’t unanimous,” said Tony Kelly, a business manager with LIUNA. “The important thing is we passed the agreement. We have labor peace with the city of St. Paul through the end of 2022.”

Read more: https://www.twincities.com/2021/11/01/st-paul-city-laborers-teamsters-settle-contract-with-retroactive-pay-bump/