You may have heard that the town board voted to approve the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the new White-Collar Union at Town Hall and the town board of Chester. The town voluntarily recognized the White-Collar Union last fall, and the town board authorized former Supervisor Valentine to begin negotiations on the union contract late last year. Mr. Valentine told us that it was just a formality, that the contract terms could not be agreed upon unless the majority of the Board approved of them.
Despite this, former Supervisor Valentine tentatively agreed to multiple changes in terms and conditions of employment without any other board member’s input or approval.
Furthermore, he tried to get the town board to vote for the contract he negotiated at the last town board meeting of 2023. Councilmen Ardisana, Courtenay, and I voted it down. We later found out that the document that we were presented with was not even the correct contract. The town was not aware of this until the union subsequently pointed out that the document the town representatives were working from did not include a health insurance concession by the union.
After the change in town leadership and a change in labor counsel, we learned that while the final contract would be subject to board approval, the town and the union are required under the law to bargain in good faith, and that requirement applies despite the change in town leadership. As the former supervisor was the authorized representative bargaining on behalf of the town, the town needed to be mindful of what had already been negotiated with the union when trying to negotiate changes. Town representatives and the union subsequently met, and ultimately agreed to the contract that was recently approved by a majority of the town board.
Ultimately there remains some terms in the approved contract that were negotiated by the former supervisor that were not necessarily terms the current town board was in favor of. However, the union was willing to work with the town to limit most of those terms to current employees, and not extend such terms to future employees. It is also important to note that there are some terms in the approved contract that are favorable to the town, including new employees contributing towards health insurance premiums, and providing the town with discretion on the work week for new employees. We are thankful for the union’s willingness to work with the town after the changes in town leadership.
To be clear, I am strongly in favor of union representation of workers in both the public and private sectors. As your representative, I must be mindful of what is in the best interest of the town, the employees, and the taxpayers. My colleagues on the town board feel the same, and we tried our best to agree to a contract that was fair and reasonable for everyone. We will continue to look out for your best interest in the future.
If you have any questions on the contract, please reach out to me. I’m happy to go over the specifics with anyone.
Brandon Holdridge, Supervisor
Town of Chester