Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Nurses topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Meriden approves three-year tentative agreement with nurses union
Summary
The Meriden City Council approved a three-year tentative agreement with the nurses union that includes 2.75% wage increases, a unified wellness/health plan across city unions, retro pay timing differences for school nurses and a reduction in sick-time banks for future hires.
Kathy Zygmunt, Meriden’s director of human resources, told the council the city and the nurses union have reached a three-year tentative agreement that includes a 2.75% wage schedule and changes to benefits and sick‑time banks. "I'm pleased to announce that we've reached an agreement with our nurses union," Zygmunt said during the Nov. 17 meeting.
The agreement separates retroactive payments based on employee schedules: some staff will receive retro pay back to July 1, while school nurses—whose school-year assignments begin Aug. 15—have retroactive timing aligned with that start date. Zygmunt said the city consolidated most bargaining units under the same health and wellness plan, improving administrative efficiency and consistency across departments.
Among the contract highlights is a memorandum of understanding to provide full‑time school nurses up to 25 additional hours per school year for start‑up tasks and record‑keeping. The city also agreed that, after ratification, new hires will have the ability to bank up to 90 sick days rather than the 120 days available under older contracts; existing staff retain their current accruals. Zygmunt said the union was pleased with the changes and that the negotiations required no arbitration.
Councilor Michael Carabetta asked whether any terms required arbitration; Zygmunt replied there was "absolutely nothing" to take to arbitration and characterized the process as smooth. The council approved the resolution by voice vote with no recorded opposition.
The agreement will move to final ratification steps per the city's standard procedures; staff said payroll and human-resources units will implement the retroactive payments and updated leave banks once the TA is ratified.
