Whether it was the rally, the 118-1 vote to reject an earlier contract, or an article about workers making less than a living wage, George Junior Republic management seems to have changed its mind about the terms they should offer their workers.
Workers voted by a four to one margin to accept the contract management offered after their May 26th rejection of an earlier contract. According to the SEIU Local200United press release:
Posted by simon at June 16, 2005 11:17 PM in labor , schools (other)Under the terms of the new contract, union members with more than one year on the job receive an additional 50¢ per hour in each of the first two years of the three year agreement. They will receive a 40¢ increase in year three. A key area of dispute was the employee contribution to the cost of health insurance. Thanks to the members' solidarity, the union committee was able to dramatically reduce the employers demand for increased contributions.
"Before, our average wage was $8.90 per hour. Under the new agreement, that average will be $9.20 retroactive to May 1 and will increase to $9.40 in November," said SEIU Chair Bob Lucas. On May 1, 2007 it will be $10.30 per hour. The Tompkins County Living Wage is $9.18.