(MAYVILLE, NEW YORK) – The Chautauqua County Legislature this week approved a new one-year contract for its nearly 1,000 Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)-represented Public Workers that includes a 2% wage increase and the County covering the costs for the Workers health care coverage for the entire 12-month period, Union President Steve Skidmore tells WNYLaborToday.com.

The Legislature approved the contract Wednesday (November 15th) after the agreement was ratified by the CSEA Unit 6300 Membership earlier in the month by a 63% margin, Skidmore said.  The new agreement officially takes effect on January 1st (2018), he added.

“The county’s long-time human resource director had retired in early July and the new director was ‘hesitant’ to begin negotiations (on a multi-year contract), so both sides agreed that we would take the time to address everything in a longer contract, but agreed to doing a one-year deal,” Skidmore told Your On-Line Labor Newspaper.

The Membership, who are employed in a variety of County Departments – from Probation to Health and Human Services to Highway and Landfill, “Everything but Fire and Police,” Skidmore said – will receive a 2% wage increase that was negotiated in the one-year deal.

In addition, the CSEA County Membership will have their health care costs picked up by the County for the full 12-month period while both sides address the coverage plan, Skidmore said.

“They made the offer.  They will pay everything.  Premium and deductibles.  The point is to get the Members into the plan and see if they like it,” he said.

Skidmore said CSEA County Workers – who have had concerns over a high-deductible health plan – will also help build up their current Health Savings Account (HSA) in 2018 while negotiations continue on a new and multi-year contract.

“It will be a ‘different kind of event,’ sitting down with a ‘different’ (County Human Resource Director) to negotiate a new contract (in 2018), but we plan on holding workshops with the Union participating in them to determine ‘what works best’ for County Workers and then negotiate it.  ‘We will make the next contract an even better one that will work for us,’” Skidmore added.