County staff brief committee on three collective bargaining agreements; committee recommends finance review

Oakland County Human Resources presented three tentative collective bargaining agreements covering boiler operators and two units represented by the Michigan Association of Public Employees (MAPE). The Liaison Committee voted 7-0 to recommend the agreements to the finance committee.

Dan Clemner of Human Resources described the financial terms and the employee groups covered. For the boiler operators (IUE), Clemner said the three-year agreement includes wage increases of 5% in year one, 3.75% in year two and 3.75% in year three and retirement contribution percentages of roughly 9%, 9% and 12% across the three years; Clemner noted the boiler operator unit is small (he estimated about 14 employees).

For the MAPE nonsupervisory unit (youth specialists, case coordinators and similar positions), Clemner said the agreement has a 5% increase in year one and 3.75% in the following years; the unit elected to increase retiree health savings contributions from $75 to $100 per pay period, which the county said required minor adjustments to other percentages to fund that change.

For MAPE supervisors, Clemner said negotiators reached a four-year agreement to stagger contract expirations; the first three years mirror the other units and the final year provides a 3% wage increase. Clemner described the changes as negotiated trade-offs among wages and retiree health savings and thanked numerous HR staff who worked on the contracts.

A commissioner asked whether the Children's Village is fully staffed; Clemner said he did not have current staffing numbers and offered to follow up. The Liaison Committee recommended the agreements to finance by unanimous vote.