The PROTEC17 Tentative Agreement (TA) with the City of Tacoma has been passed by an overwhelming “yes” vote. The contract will be in full effect once ratified by the Tacoma City Council. The City has provided a timetable this afternoon regarding next steps and when you can expect to see your retroactive pay.

• May 31: Union ratified TA
• June 28 Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) meeting cancelled
• July 12: TA goes before the TPU Board
• July 25: First reading by Tacoma City Council
• August 1: Second reading Tacoma City Council
• August 18: Employees receive retroactive pay (pay period 17)

Please note that this process takes some time. Please let your Union Representative Brent () know if you have any concerns or questions.

Our last negotiation session was on Wed., March 1 at the Solid Waste Building. It was our turn to make a counterproposal on the items that are still open in this bargaining session. We continued to focus on fair market adjustments for as many classifications as possible. Once again, we brought in members as guests to advocate for their specific positions–again showing as an effective strategy. Although we are still getting push back from the City about the amounts we are proposing for some positions, we are optimistic that we will have a Tentative Agreement (TA) with the City soon. The exact timeline depends on how quickly the City agrees to a fair contract.

The next step is meeting with the City on Wed., March 15 as they present their counterproposal. We will be sure to update you after we meet with them. In the meantime, please reach out to your Union Representative Brent Wagar if you have a specific question regarding your classification or anything else about our contract negotiations.

We had our most recent bargaining session on Nov. 17 with the City of Tacoma at the Center of Urban Waters. The topic of discussion was our proposal to have the City supply bullet-proof vests for employees in classifications where this added protection is necessary. It was a thorough and productive conversation and although nothing has been resolved yet, it remains an extremely important issue for the bargaining team.

Our next negotiations session will be on Dec. 5 where our team will be making our economic proposal. In addition to cost-of-living increases, we will be proposing targeted increases for many job classifications that are currently below market levels. This proposal has taken a great deal of time to compile as we reach out to members to gather input and compare against similar jobs in the region — taking into account how our classifications have evolved. We will also have negotiations the following week on Dec. 13 as we work towards a deal that you will approve of as soon as possible.

After ballots were counted on Oct. 30, Tacoma members overwhelmingly voted ‘YES’ on their 2019-22 contract.

This contract marks some major wins for Tacoma members, including: COLAs of 3% in 2019, with retroactive pay to Jan. 1, 2019, 3% in 2020, 2.5% in 2021 and 2.25% in 2022; additional market adjustments for many classifications; certification pay for inspectors and more. The bargaining team – Brett Burrows, Jim McDaniel, Drayton McLaren, John Reeves, Mike Sowards, and Renee Thompson – did a fantastic job. Please give them a ‘thank you’ when you see them!