Jersey City, 3 unions forge contracts providing pay hikes, terminal leave reform

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
March 16, 2013 at 3:01 AM

Jersey City has come to an agreement with three labor unions representing fire and police officials and rank-and-file police officers that gives the employees a 2.5 percent salary hike for the second half of this year.

The three new contracts, which also provide a roughly 2 percent pay increase for each of the next three years, were approved unanimously Wednesday night by the nine-member City Council.

The new labor agreements address some issues that have caused headaches for city finance officials for years, including terminal leave. New employees will not be eligible for this perk under the new contracts.

?We?ve all seen some of the larger payouts, and the union representatives were willing to work with us to address that growing concern,? Assistant Business Administrator Robert J. Kakoleski told the council on Monday. ?All three deals make significant impacts on that benefit.?

The new contracts apply to workers in the Jersey City Fire Officers Association, the Jersey City Police Superiors Officers Association and the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association.

Workers in the three unions hired after Jan. 1, 2013 will not be eligible for ?terminal leave? payouts, which cost the city roughly $10 million last year.

Longevity pay, which is bonuses tied to the number of years an employee works for the city, will be capped at 12 percent for new employees, down from 16 percent for current workers.

Members of the three unions will also have to pay increased co-pays on prescription drugs.

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