The pay hike includes a 3 percent annual pay increase plus a variable bonus of 1.5 per cent each year based on meeting safety and work goals, reported Ian Brown, Local 340 president.
The agreement covers 438 workers and runs through April 30, 2015.
“We strategically negotiate our contract in the spring of the year,” Brown said. Spring brings the start of construction season, he explained, and CenterPoint needs to resolve its labor agreement to ensure no work interruptions.
“They can’t get people off the street to do what we do,” Brown said.
The company had sought mandatory overtime in the new contract, Brown reported, but the union negotiated to keep no mandatory overtime for workers with 20-plus years and a cap of 160 hours per year in mandatory overtime for workers with less seniority. “But people can volunteer for more — and do,” Brown added.
Reprinted from the Minneapolis Labor Review.
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The pay hike includes a 3 percent annual pay increase plus a variable bonus of 1.5 per cent each year based on meeting safety and work goals, reported Ian Brown, Local 340 president.
The agreement covers 438 workers and runs through April 30, 2015.
“We strategically negotiate our contract in the spring of the year,” Brown said. Spring brings the start of construction season, he explained, and CenterPoint needs to resolve its labor agreement to ensure no work interruptions.
“They can’t get people off the street to do what we do,” Brown said.
The company had sought mandatory overtime in the new contract, Brown reported, but the union negotiated to keep no mandatory overtime for workers with 20-plus years and a cap of 160 hours per year in mandatory overtime for workers with less seniority. “But people can volunteer for more — and do,” Brown added.
Reprinted from the Minneapolis Labor Review.