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New Jersey State Workers OK Four-Year Contract

CWA-represented state workers in New Jersey have approved a contract that emphasizes job protection while also boosting pay by 11.5 percent over four years and upgrading hundreds of job titles.

Bargained against the backdrop of a state budget crisis, the contract covering 35,000 state employees includes no pay hikes in 2003 but provides four across-the-board raises in subsequent years ranging from 2 percent to 2.9 percent. It also includes a long-sought 10th step on the salary scale effective July 1, 2006, for workers with more than nine years on the job.

"This is a fair settlement that protects our members' jobs and improves their standard of living, despite the worst fiscal crisis in the state's history,' CWA District 1 Vice President Larry Mancino said. "We've avoided layoffs and negotiated a substantial raise over the life of the agreement. The negotiations were tough, but the administration worked with us to reach an agreement that meets the needs of our members."

Members of CWA Locals 1031, 1032, 1033, 1034, 1037, 1039 and 1040 met with union leaders to review the contract and vote over the last two weeks in June.

Among economic improvements is a 25-cent hourly differential for all second- and third-shift work beginning July 1, 2005. Presently an employee has to work nearly 200 swing or night shifts in a calendar year to be eligible for a bonus, which works out to about 18 cents an hour. Workers will also get an increase in their clothing allowance.

The agreement also provides employer-paid health benefits for more than 400 intermittent workers, such as seasonal employees in the departments of Taxation and Revenue, if they work at least 750 hours a year.

Other contract gains include title upgrades for hundreds of bargaining unit members, significant language changes to make it harder for the state to privatize state jobs, and a requirement for independent arbitration in cases of disciplinary action.

Employees' co-payments for health care increase under the contract, rising from $5 to $10 for office visits and brand-name drugs. The cost for generic drugs, now $1, will rise to $3.

Gov. James McGreevey praised CWA's hard work through months of negotiations, stating, "In these difficult economic times, our priority in the negotiations was to protect jobs." McGreevey said CWA members "professionalism and the commitment they display on the job is essential to our ability to provide quality programs and services for New Jersey citizens."