Public works employees in Ferguson Township will receive immediate pay raises along as part of a new contract after months of negotiations between township administration and Teamsters Local 764.
The township Board of Supervisors on Monday voted unanimously to ratify the tentative collective bargaining agreement, while union members are scheduled to vote on Wednesday. Based on recent communications between township staff and the union advocate, “we believe we reached an agreement,” township manager Centrice Martin said.
Wages for Ferguson Township staff have long lagged behind their peers in neighboring municipalities, and Martin said negotiations for the new agreement aimed at addressing that disparity. She noted that negotiations “extended far beyond what we would usually consider the appropriate or average time” while the two sides worked toward a consensus on hourly pay.
“There’s been a disparity in wages for over 10 years, but with this CBA I’m happy to share that we will bring those wages for our public works road crew, arborist, mechanics and custodians to competitive wages within the regional market,” Martin said.
From 2015 to 2021, public works wages in Ferguson Township remained largely stagnant despite rising rates for comparable positions in the region, according to a release from the township. Typical road crew positions increased from roughly $16.50 per hour in 2015 to just under $20 per hour in 2021, and mechanics increased from $19.40 to $22.90 during that same time.
The first negotiated contract between the township and Teamsters 764 took effect in 2022 and included modest increases, raising base hourly rates from $18.68 to $19.10 for road crew and from $20.11 to $22.11 for mechanics.
Under the tentative new contract, base hourly wages will increase to $23.50 for road crew and custodians and $26.43 for mechanics, with an additional 3% increase effective Jan. 1, 2027.
The contract will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025 for current public works union employees in the township. In response to a question from a member of the public, Martin said retroactive payouts for workers who have since left township employment was not part of the negotiated terms.
It will be in place through Dec. 31, 2027.
The agreement, which will be made public after both sides have finalized it, will also include “significant updates” to voluntary overtime, holidays, sick leave, grievance procedures and health benefits.
Supervisor Matthew Heller credit township administration and the Teamsters “for coming to the table and working to resolve this for the union and our staff.”
Board Vice-Chair Omari Patterson also thanked fellow supervisors and Martin for moving the new contract forward. He said that he was aware of social media chatter related to employee satisfaction in the township, but that supervisors and staff were unable to publicly discuss the contract negotiations while they were ongoing.
“This is long overdue,” Patterson said. “I didn’t realize how bad it was until being in this seat, siting up here and seeing some of the data that not everybody in the general public can see. It’s unfortunate, and so now we’re essentially kind of correcting, dare I say, sins of the past.”
A release from the township also acknowledged that it has coordinated with neighboring municipalities for snow plow coverage in certain parts of the township for this winter, saying that “leadership remains focused on investing in Ferguson Township’s own employees for the long term.”
“By strengthening its workforce, the Township is investing not only in its employees’ livelihoods but also in the reliability, safety and quality of essential services that directly benefit residents year-round,” the release stated.
