Saratoga County has reached an agreement with the local Civil Service Employees Association unit on a new five-year contract.
The 500-member CSEA unit voted down a proposed contract in December and declared an impasse. The new deal was announced July 10.
“So, we were assigned a mediator by New York State and had I would say one-and-a-half not even two full mediation sessions. And we were able to sign another proposed contract that would go before the membership. And this time it was passed. Now the process is complete, we have a new five-year contract with our CSEA members. That’s the largest union of the unions that we work with here in Saratoga County,” said Barrett.
Republican Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chair Phil Barrett previously told WAMC that CSEA leadership had approved the initial contract, and county officials took that as a testament of a good working relationship with the union.
The new contract includes a flat pay increase of $4,000, rollover comp time, updated vacation policies based on years worked, and Juneteenth becoming the 12th paid holiday.
“As far as the pay is concerned, it equates to a 7.3% increase on average for the first year of the contract and for the next four years 2.95%. We believe it’s a fair contract for the employees of Saratoga County as well as the taxpayers that we represent,” said Barrett.
The new contract also gradually increases employee contributions toward health and dental insurance premiums for those paying under 20% beginning in 2026.
According to the county, those paying 15% would contribute 20% by 2028, and those paying 5% would contribute 10% over the same period.
Co-pays will remain the same for the remainder of 2024, but will gradually increase next year for office visits, specialist visits, emergency room visits, and prescriptions.
CSEA Capital Region spokesperson Therese Assalian said there were several sticking points with the initial contract that unit members just couldn’t stomach without dramatic pay increases.
“The county went in really looking to change some of the terms of the contributions to healthcare and they were looking to do that in a quicker way if you will. And we were able to kind of get them to agree to hold off for a little bit,” said Assalian.
Saratoga County is one of the fastest-growing regions in the state, and with that growth has come increases to the cost of living. In demonstrations at several county board meetings, CSEA members expressed concerns that workers who keep the county running would no longer be able to afford to live within it.
Assalian says the new contract helps address their concerns, but more still needs to be done.
“We don’t believe that someone who is a public employee who has been working for the county for 10, 15, 20 years should have to have a second job to make ends meet, but that is the reality. And yes, there is a little bit of money there, but it may not make a huge difference, I guess we’ll find out. I guess we’ll see if the county is able to improve recruitment,” said Assalian.
Assalian adds that there was a silver lining to the months of mediation during which were high.
“What happens is people come in to the fold and people step up and people stand together and that creates natural activists who emerge. And instead of saying, ‘well how com the union can’t do more?’ People are realizing, ‘wait a minute, I’m the union. And I have a role to play,’” said Assalian.
The new contract runs through December 2028.
