The Duluth City Council unanimously approved contract agreements with unions representing city staff Monday, authorizing deals involving the Duluth Supervisory Association and the Confidential Unit of the City of Duluth. But the city has yet to negotiate agreements with its largest unions.
Workers represented by the Supervisory Association will receive a 1 percent raise in 2012, a 1.5 percent increase in 2013 and a 2 percent boost in 2014.
Meanwhile, members of the confidential unit stand to receive a 1 percent increase in 2012, followed by 2 percent raises in both 2013 and 2014.
Members of both unions received no increase in pay, aside from step increases, during the previous two years.
The two unions agreed to pay 10 percent of single-person health-care premiums going forward -- a higher percentage than they previously did. The insurance change is expected to save the city roughly $350,000 over the term of the contracts, according to David Montgomery, Duluth's chief administrative officer.
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Even with these savings factored in, however, the new contracts with both unions are expected to increase total city labor costs by just shy of $300,000 between now and 2014.
Montgomery said the city is "quite a ways along" in its contract negotiations with its firefighters union and not as far along in talks with its police union.
The city has not yet commenced contract negotiations with its largest union, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees.
