After a challenging negotiations that included 23 bargaining sessions over a 10-month period, the Pierce County Engineers’ Bargaining Unit reached a tentative agreement on May 8, and ratified the agreement on May 24.
The new contract includes a four percent retroactive general wage increase for 2024, and an additional four percent increase for 2025. The agreement also includes new strong and positive language about the County’s change to the job requirements of the Civil Engineer 2 classification, and a new pathway for Civil Engineer 2’s without a degree to become Civil Engineer 3’s.
Negotiations with Pierce County were especially difficult due to anti-union leadership in the County Executive’s office. Although the process was extremely frustrating and challenging, the team – consisting of Aaron Erickson, Troy Lee, Mike Manley, John Mauger, and Kirstin Thornton – did a skillful job bargaining the best contract possible under these strenuous circumstances.
Negotiations for the next contract will begin again in a year, hopefully with a new pro-union County Executive in office so that we can negotiate even stronger contracts for Pierce County members.