MANSFIELD — Ron Wise has worked for the city for 23 years. He’s never seen a better union contract then the one approved by Mansfield City Council on Tuesday night.
“I am very proud of this contract, being a part of this team,” said Wise, president of the AFSCME Local #3088. “It’s one of the best contracts we’ve ever had. I know that for a fact because I’ve talked to people with 35, 40 years and they’re like, ‘I’ve never seen a contract this good.’”
After months of negotiations, city council voted in favor of the union-approved agreement. The three-year pact begins with a retroactive start date of May 1, 2021.
Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local #3088 include many of the “general laborers” that make the city run behind the scenes.
They include motor equipment operators at the water and wastewater treatment plants, community development workers, snow plow operators, utility collectors, police records clerks, court clerks, water meter installers, Mansfield Lahm airport employees, maintenance workers, Clear Fork reservoir workers and employees at the parks department — just to name a few.
Mayor Tim Theaker said he was happy with the deal, which is mutually beneficial to the city, administration and the union.
“Every single job that we hire, every single position that we hire plays an integral role in moving Mansfield forward, keeping it moving, keeping it going,” he said.
Wise estimated union membership is between 140 and 145 people, noting there are currently a few jobs posted. Membership dropped from about 230 people after the citywide layoffs in 2009, a response to Mansfield’s dip into fiscal emergency.
The city employs approximately 461 full-time and part-time workers, according to Human Resources Director Sharon May. Police officers and firefighters each have their own union; management employees are non-union.
The agreement includes a pay increase of 3 percent for AFSCME workers this year, followed by a 2.75 percent raise in the second and third year of the contract.
Council also voted to adopt personnel positions, pay grades and salaries for certain city employees, many of whom Wise said have not seen a pay grade increase in years.
Wise said the city has seen a lot of employee turnover in the past few years due to low wages.
“You get a good employee and they leave three weeks later, a month later,” Wise said. “They say ‘I can’t afford to work here. It doesn’t pay enough. I got a job right up the road offering $4 more an hour to do the same thing.’
“I’ve seen several good employees come and go in a short amount of time because of the fact that we just don’t make enough money.”
Wise said wages “across the board” are below average for cities with the same size and economic situation as Mansfield, citing reports from the State Employment Relations Board (SERB).
Wise said Mansfield has also begun requiring more licenses and certifications, but wasn’t offering extra compensation to employees with those qualifications under the old bargaining agreement.
“People are going through the schooling and doing the things they need to get these licenses, but they’re not really being rewarded for them, it’s not increasing their pay any,” he said.
Under the new agreement, employees will qualify for higher pay after receiving certain trainings and certifications.
Wise said it was rewarding to see the contract come to fruition. He hopes it will boost the morale of the city’s workforce.
“When I got hired by the city, I was ecstatic,” he said. “It was a dream job for me, so I’m trying to kind of get that feeling back to new members.”
