About 1,700 Baltimore County employees will not receive annual raises this year ? some as high at 13 percent ? after a decision their union representatives called a better alternative to proposed retirement and pension plan changes.
After 7 1/2 hours of negotiations, county and union leaders on Thursday failed to meet a deadline to resolve a dispute over a proposal to extend the minimum retirement age from 60 to 65 for employees with less than 30 years of service. The proposal would unfairly require about half of the county?s Federation of Public Employees membership to work beyond age 60 to receive full retirement benefits, labor leaders said.
“The county insisted on pursuing what we really considered changing the rules in the middle of the game,” union spokesman Terence Cooper said. “Suddenly, many employees would have to work longer than they planned.”
With the help of an independent mediator, county officials reached a tentative agreement Thursday with the 93-member Public Health Nurses and reached agreements with other bargaining groups last week. With the exception of the FPE, all agreed to pension plan changes in exchange for cost-of-living raises between 2.5 percent and 3 percent as well as small pay-scale upgrades.
County labor commissioner George Gay said he offered 910 FPE members pay upgrades, at least half of which would equal 13 percent raises. He said he agreed to review the remaining 800 employees to determine their upgrades by January, among other perks.
Though surprised at labor leaders? refusal, Gay said the negotiations were amicable.
“We are professional negotiators and it was handled in that manner,” Gay said.
Earlier this week, FPE members packed the County Council meeting to decry the proposed changes, imploring councilmen to intervene. At least one, District 3 Democrat Bryan McIntire, said he is concerned about the changes? impacts on employee recruitment and is calling for a discussion with administrators.
“Even if affects only a dozen, I want them treated fairly,” McIntire said.
