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Amherst-CUPE ratify new three-year deal

The Town of Amherst and its unionized workforce have ratified a new three-year contract.

Representatives of the town and CUPE Local 1233, which represents heavy equipment operators, carpenters, mechanics, welders, stadium operators and parks attendants that work in the town’s operational services department and recreation facilities, reached the deal just days before the current contract was set to expire on March 31, 2023.

They formally signed the deal during a short ceremony in the Amherst council chambers on Tuesday, April 5, 2023. Both sides ratified the new contract during the latter part of March.

“We are very pleased to have been able to reach this agreement with CUPE Local 1233 without the aid of outside assistance,” Amherst CAO Jason MacDonald said. “Management’s goal was to develop a collective agreement that maintained management’s rights, provided a wage increase that was fair to our employees. We achieved that thanks to the excellent co-operation and work put in by the union’s leadership team and the management’s bargaining group.”

Mayor David Kogon thanked the union and town’s bargaining committees for working diligently to reach an agreement that was acceptable to both parties.

“I believe the fact this deal came together so quickly shows the excellent relationship that exists between the town and the union,” Kogon said. “We look forward to continuing that outstanding relationship now and well into the future.”

Matt Gould, CUPE Local 1233 president, said he was pleased the two parties could reach an agreement.

“I believe this contract fulfills the needs of our membership, while giving them raises that reflect the current period of inflation,” Gould said.

During the negotiations, neither party sought any significant changes to the contract’s language. As such, they focused on a general wage settlement that will see the union members receive a five per cent increase in the first year of the contract, a 3.5 per cent increase in the second year and a three per cent increase in the third year of the contract that will expire on March 31, 2026.

The new contract sees lead hands with Temporary Workplace Signer Certificates moved into the lead hands with certification pay classification. A new electrician classification was also added, which will result in certified electricians being paid at the same rate as a certified mechanics or welders.

In addition, sewer and water maintenance personnel with certification will be moved to the same classification as employees with refrigeration certification and the lead hand with certification classification hourly rate will increase by 50 cents per hour.