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WILKES-BARRE — The city’s Department of Public Works employees voted in favor of a new contract, City Administrator Rick Gazenski said Wednesday night.
Gazenski said the vote was 34 to 4 by employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 401. The details were not immediately unavailable.
The vote followed one earlier this week by City Hall workers and paramedics represented by Local 1310 of the Laborers’ International Union of North America that was in favor of a new five-year contract.
The two unions last agreed to one-year contract extensions in 2017 that included 3-percent raises. Mayor Tony George did not include raises for them in his 2018 and 2019 balanced budgets as his administration tries to stabilize the city’s finances.
Still pending is a binding arbitration decision with Local 104 of the International Association of Fire Fighters. The contract with the Wilkes-Barre Police Benevolent Association expires at the end of this year.
The new contract with Local 1310 included raises, introduced health care contributions and deductibles and increased the pension contribution. The deal also eliminated the residency requirement.
The mayor said he supported eliminating the requirement because police and firefighters don’t have to live in the city. Their unions challenged the requirement as unconstitutional and prevailed.
“I think DPW and City Hall employees should have the same right,” George said at city council’s work session Tuesday night.
Three of the five council members said they opposed the elimination of the residency requirement, however.