Deal reached with city public safety workers union

  

August 21, 2012 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- The Public Safety Employees Unit II bargaining unit is announcing the union has ratified a new collective bargaining agreement impacting approximately 2,500 workers in Chicago.

The unit comprises Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, SEIU Local 73, and IBEW Local 21.

The four-year contract takes effect pending Chicago City Council approval.

"This is a practical, reasonable agreement that is good for the taxpayers, good for the workers, and good for the city," said Emanuel in a release from the mayor's office . "This agreement is a direct representation of the positive outcomes that result when both parties sit down and negotiate in good faith with the best interests of the city in mind."

According to the news release, the basic economic terms of the agreement are as follows:

Employees will receive 1.5 percent raises in 2013 and 2014, and will receive one percent raises in 2015 and 2016. The agreement will also include a single lump sum payment for employees, payable 30 days after the agreement is ratified by City Council. These payments will range from $150 to $500 per employee.

In addition, the wage rates for full-time "entry-level" employees (during the first five years of employment), will be frozen at current levels during the term of the agreement, allowing these rates to be economically competitive with those in the private sector and elsewhere. Such full-time employees will continue to be eligible for annual step increases.

The agreement will go before city council in September, the release said.

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