SEIU Local 1984

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Union Compromise Leads to Agreement in Coos County

Coos County House of Corrections employees have reached agreement on a new contract, but they are already looking forward to more negotiations beginning in August.

Soaring health insurance costs forced union members to compromise more than they wanted to, reports Mark Dillon, president of Chapter 53.

Union and management negotiators reached the tentative agreement as a mediator stood by on May 28. Members ratified the agreement on June 3.

Informational Picketing

Activists gave management a taste of what can happen in the future when they went ahead with informational picketing outside the House of Corrections that afternoon.

SEA members from the Northern N.H. Correctional Facility in Berlin joined the picketing, and Chapter 53 members are in contact with other North Country unions as they plan for the future.

"We would like to level the playing field so they cannot force us into agreements that we are not happy with," Dillon said.

"The disdain we feel from the administration is palpable."

- Mark Dillon
Chapter 53 President

Respect

Members continue to feel that they are not given the respect due to professional correctional employees.

"The disdain we feel from the administration is palpable."

Health insurance was a major sticking point in negotiations. The existing contract sets a dollar amount paid by the employer. Union negotiators wanted to replace that with a fixed percentage.

Raises Retroactive

Dillon said the compromise lowers the weekly amount paid by members on the family plan from $96 per week to $64. The contract also provides a 2 percent cost-of-living increase and adds two new steps, each worth 25 cents per hour, to the pay scale. Pay raises are retroactive to Jan. 1, 2003. The new steps should encourage long-time employees to remain in county employment.

"I hate to see people move on when they have a lot of years here," Dillon said. "All we want is a good contract."

The current contract expires at the end of this year, and the next round of negotiations begins Aug. 7.