Local 32035 bargainers recently achieved a new contract for a half-dozen Guild members at United Way Worldwide’s Department of Labor Participation. The agreement runs through April 30, 2018.
Highlights of the contract include raises of 3.5 percent each year and a signing bonus of $1,000. The employer is increasing its share of the cost of health-insurance premiums from 75 percent to 80 percent.
“There also was an enhancement to the 401(k) plan,” said Local Representative Paul Reilly. “But this was only partial compensation for the freeze in the pension benefit” that has been gradually diminished in previous agreements.
The philanthropy’s labor participation staff serve as AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison to workers and their families across the nation. The primary mission of the department is to coordinate federation support for the United Way.
The United Way unit was organized by WBNG in 1997, with an initial five-year agreement. Successive Guild contracts were achieved in 2002, 2005, 2008, and a four-year deal in 2011. In September 2015, the 2011-2015 agreement was extended one year.
United Way staffers Nancy McCormick and Josh Cezares, along with Reilly, comprised the shop bargaining team.