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Negotiations between county and its largest union appear to have broken down.
After more than four months of back-and-forth on the union contract, which represents close to 70 percent of the entire county payroll, the county Ways and Means Committee decided Wednesday not to accept a counter offer from Civil Service Employees Association, according to county Administrator James Wallace.
“It looks like the CSEA will be headed towards mediation,” Wallace said in a phone interview.
The union represents more than 350 employees between the county and Herkimer County Community College.
Wallace was unable Thursday to provide the exact percentage of the county’s $18.5 million overall payroll that goes to CSEA employees, but did say the figure is more than $11 million in the current budget.
JoAnne LeClair, local CSEA unit president, declined to comment on the negotiations, saying she is waiting for an official response from the county.
The next negotiation meeting on the contract, which expired at the end of last year, is set for May 24, according to LeClair.
If the CSEA contract reaches mediation, it marks the second union that the county was recently unsuccessful in reaching an agreement.
The county Highway Department union is currently involved in mediation with the county, according to Wallace. The union, whose contract expired in 2008, represents 33 full-time and 43 part-time employees who earn a combined close to $1.8 million, he added.
Both the CSEA and Highway Department unions received 3 percent raises in the last year of their contracts.
A late state budget has made already tough contract negotiations all the more difficult, according to Wallace. “It’s just very difficult without a state budget to gauge the impact,” he said.
Adding to the challenge, the CSEA contract negotiations started out last November with a confrontational tone.
The union filed an improper practice charge against the county. The claim, filed with the state Public Employment Relations Board, accused the county of not responding to certified letters requesting meeting dates.
Local and state CSEA officials have said the county is simply continuing a practice of leaving CSEA employees guessing as to their future.
The last CSEA contract expired in December 2005, but it wasn’t handled by the county and put to a vote by CSEA members until October 2007, according to comments made by LeClair related to the claim.
Both the county and CSEA had agreed to make no comments to the press during the negotiation process. The decision came shortly after the CSEA filed the charge.
LeClair on Thursday said to her understanding a hearing related to the charge did not occur. Details on the progress of the charge are forthcoming, she added.
The county has held eight negotiating sessions with CSEA officials since the filing, according to Wallace.
Negotiations between county and its largest union appear to have broken down.
After more than four months of back-and-forth on the union contract, which represents close to 70 percent of the entire county payroll, the county Ways and Means Committee decided Wednesday not to accept a counter offer from Civil Service Employees Association, according to county Administrator James Wallace.
“It looks like the CSEA will be headed towards mediation,” Wallace said in a phone interview.
The union represents more than 350 employees between the county and Herkimer County Community College.
Wallace was unable Thursday to provide the exact percentage of the county’s $18.5 million overall payroll that goes to CSEA employees, but did say the figure is more than $11 million in the current budget.
JoAnne LeClair, local CSEA unit president, declined to comment on the negotiations, saying she is waiting for an official response from the county.
The next negotiation meeting on the contract, which expired at the end of last year, is set for May 24, according to LeClair.
If the CSEA contract reaches mediation, it marks the second union that the county was recently unsuccessful in reaching an agreement.
The county Highway Department union is currently involved in mediation with the county, according to Wallace. The union, whose contract expired in 2008, represents 33 full-time and 43 part-time employees who earn a combined close to $1.8 million, he added.
Both the CSEA and Highway Department unions received 3 percent raises in the last year of their contracts.
A late state budget has made already tough contract negotiations all the more difficult, according to Wallace. “It’s just very difficult without a state budget to gauge the impact,” he said.
Adding to the challenge, the CSEA contract negotiations started out last November with a confrontational tone.
The union filed an improper practice charge against the county. The claim, filed with the state Public Employment Relations Board, accused the county of not responding to certified letters requesting meeting dates.
Local and state CSEA officials have said the county is simply continuing a practice of leaving CSEA employees guessing as to their future.
The last CSEA contract expired in December 2005, but it wasn’t handled by the county and put to a vote by CSEA members until October 2007, according to comments made by LeClair related to the claim.
Both the county and CSEA had agreed to make no comments to the press during the negotiation process. The decision came shortly after the CSEA filed the charge.
LeClair on Thursday said to her understanding a hearing related to the charge did not occur. Details on the progress of the charge are forthcoming, she added.
The county has held eight negotiating sessions with CSEA officials since the filing, according to Wallace.
