[B]URLINGTON — Both the Burlington School District and City of Burlington have announced they have reached agreements with the unions representing their workers.
The school district reached an agreement Wednesday with its teachers union, the Burlington Education Association, to a contract that will cover the 2019-2020 school year. The city announced Thursday it had reached a four-year agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who represent more than 200 city workers.
The teachers union went on a four-day strike in September 2017 after it was unable to reach an agreement with the district. In 2016, the union voted to strike but reached an agreement with the district hours before the strike was set to start.
The one-year contract is the maximum length of time allowed by state law, the district and BEA said in a joint press release. More details about the agreement will be released once it is ratified by both the district and the union.
“I am pleased that collectively the BEA, Board, and District have been able to work together to reach an agreement on the behalf of our students and their teachers, and we look forward to continued collaboration,” Superintendent Yaw Obeng said in the press release.
The AFSCME contract with the city covers July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2022.
The AFSCME represents workers in many city departments, including public works; parks, recreation and waterfront; airport; library; Community and Economic Development Office; clerk and treasurer’s office; and civilian employees of the Burlington Police Department.
The contract includes higher employee contribution to the cost of the city’s retirement system and continues a cost-sharing measure that has employees contributing to the city’s self-insured fund to pay for the cost of health care.
The contract between the city includes cost of living increases for AFSCME employees, increases in on-call pay and complies with the new state sick leave law.
The city is currently in negotiations with two of the four unions that represent city employees, the Burlington Police Officers Association and Burlington Firefighters Association. It reached an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers earlier this year on a new four-year contract.
