Studies show that union members are paid higher wages than nonunion members. That is why it is vitally important for workers to join their union if they are eligible. The recent efforts of the Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees (BCFPE Local 4883) and their negotiating team demonstrate this. The committee who represented BCFPE in recent negotiations with the County was made up of BCFPE President John Ripley, and board members Chris Morgan, Matt Madairy, Josh Tormey, and Angela Spencer.
The union agreed to a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Baltimore county that comes with unprecedented gains for county workers. The agreement gives county workers in the bargaining unit scheduled cost of living adjustment (COLA) increases for pay schedules 1, 1C, and 1E for fiscal year (FY) 2024. Additionally, there will be guaranteed schedule Steps and Longevities for FY24 and FY25, guarantee of no furloughs or layoffs for FY24 and FY25, as well as grade increases and added 13-year longevity for pay schedule 1C and 1E. This contract was ratified by the membership by a margin of 96% on May 26, 2023.
President Ripley is pleased with the contract, and the membership’s decision to ratify it. “This is a really good contract for our members. The negotiation committee won some important and hard fought concessions that I am very proud of and believe the membership is excited to have. We had cooperative partners to work with in the county who were also committed to getting a fair deal done and I believe that’s what we did” Ripley said reflecting on the MOU. He went on to say “the negotiating team went into this negotiation with its best footing in more than a decade and because of that and the aforementioned cooperative partnership, we were able to reach historic gains.”
The two year contract has a FY25 wage reopener with the possibility of including additional COLA increases and general county employee upgrade recommendations following the Comp and Class Review that is currently underway. A highlight of the contract is reversal of the disastrous Pre/Post 2007 two-tiered healthcare rate system. President Ripley served as chairman of the Health Care Review Committee for the county and was instrumental in initiating the reversal. The union has its eyes set on reversing the equally disastrous two-tiered Pre/Post 2007 retirement system. “I’m proud that we’re able to work our way out of the old and ineffective healthcare system without harming pre-2007 employee benefits and I pledge to not stop until we undo the 2007 retirement changes as well,” Ripley said.
The contract is set to go into effect on July 1, 2023 and will run through June 30, 2025. Members can review a copy of the MOU here once it is available.
2023-05-26