MEA Contract Extension Ratified by Members
Thank you to all of the MEA members who took the time to vote on our contract extension ratification yesterday. We had a great turnout and the contract was overwhelmingly ratified by a vote of 1298 in favor to 35 opposed, which amounts to a 97.4% “yes” vote to support the recommendation of MEA’s negotiating team. The next step is for the City Council to adopt a resolution approving the contract at an upcoming meeting, which will likely take place in April.
While the terms of this 1-year contract extension involve continuing economic sacrifices for employees, extending the contract avoids the need for another bargaining process which would likely have resulted in a worse outcome given the City’s ongoing recession-related budget deficit and other political considerations. Also, the terms of this extension continue to be more favorable than the outcome experienced by other City unions that had harsher economic take-aways imposed on them after impasse in 2009—and those take aways remain in effect to this day.
For more information on the specific terms of the contract extension, please click on the attached handout. If you have additional questions, as always please contact your MEA representative at 619-264-6632. Thank you!