Middletown council rejects one-year UPSU Local 6457 tentative agreement after lengthy debate

The Middletown Common Council on June 18 rejected a tentative, one-year collective bargaining agreement between the City and UPSU Local 6457 after public support for the deal collided with council members———' concerns about reclassified positions, pension liabilities and missing cost comparables. The final roll call was five ayes and six nays.

Kathy Lakowicz, Director of Recreation and Community Services and a UPSU member, urged approval during the public hearing, saying the agreement "strikes a balance of the needs of the union and the city" and highlighted a 2.6% cost-of-living increase for union members. "The key word here is collective bargaining. It is about the we and not the me," Lakowicz said.

Council supporters, including Councilmember Darnell Ford, said the one-year contract provides stability while the city continues a classification review and would have limited fiscal impact because salary reserve funds were available. Councilmember Steven Kovac, who seconded the contract motion, argued the agreement would realign several positions and increase employee contributions toward unfunded liabilities; he warned that rejecting it could prompt arbitration and additional costs.

Opponents raised process and financial questions. Councilmember Lafredo objected to the inclusion of three position reclassifications in the settlement, questioned whether the contract language allowed reclassification in the final year, and cited an actuarial figure for the city's OPEB liability (presented in the meeting as roughly $171.67 million). "This contract has been significantly modified," he said, and announced he would vote no.

Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell said she had "serious concerns" about the timing (a one-year contract that reopens bargaining in six months), the incomplete classification and compensation study the council had authorized, and the lack of detailed comparables and written cost calculations for the three reclassified civilian positions; she also voted no.

After debate, the council conducted a roll-call vote. Ayes: Steven Kovac, Darnell Ford, Grady Faulkner Jr., Anthony Mangifico and Kelly Sweeney. Nays: [Councilwoman] Spatova, Councilman Gennaro, Councilman Lafredo, Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell, Linda Salafia and Jonathan Pollino. The clerk announced the tally as five ayes and six nays, and the council———rejected the tentative agreement.

What was in the tentative agreement: the council was presented a motion to approve a one-year deal (effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026) that included reclassifications and salary-grade adjustments for several manager positions and an option allowing current union members a one-time pension selection change. The meeting record contains several salary and numeric figures that are garbled in the transcript; the council packet and the city clerk——— should be consulted for the authoritative salary tables and fiscal impact analysis.

Next steps: With the tentative agreement rejected, council members discussed returning to the bargaining table and the possibility of arbitration; no further formal action was taken on the contract at the June 18 meeting. The meeting adjourned after the vote.