(MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK) - Members of the Civil Service Employees Association’s (CSEA) City of Mount Vernon Unit recently overwhelmingly approved a new contract deal following a years-long fight for fairness and equity that was mired along the way by political hurdles.

According to CSEA Unit President Taryn Vanderberg, it was the Unit’s efforts to strengthen their Labor-Management relationship with the current City Administration that helped them finally reach an agreement.

The Unit’s previous contract expired at the end of 2017.

“Our current Mayor and Comptroller see how hard we work,” said Vanderberg. “Everybody was just working together to get this contract done.”

The city’s current Mayor, Shawyn Patterson-Howard, has been working to stabilize the City’s finances and Labor Relations since taking office in 2020.

Complicating matters was the tenure of former elected City Comptroller Deborah Reynolds, who refused to provide necessary financial details that would allow City Leaders to negotiate with CSEA with a clear picture of the City’s finances.

Reynolds’s actions as Comptroller came under criticism from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli following an audit by DiNapoli’s office.

It was under Patterson-Howard and current Comptroller Darren Morton’s watch that a tentative agreement was finally reached after roughly six years without a contract.

“Quite a few Members have come and said thank you to our Negotiating Committee because they know what we were going through,” Vanderberg said.

The new agreement runs from the beginning of 2018 through the end of 2023 and includes the payment of the wage increases that the previous Comptroller had withheld during the previous contract term.

In the new contract, Members are receiving wage increases for each year, increases in longevity, and provisions for clothing and equipment allowances.

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story, Go To: Getting to yes in Mount Vernon after lengthy fight (cseany.org)