City's teamsters ratify contract agreement

The city of Sarasota and its Public Works Department employees, also known as Teamsters Local Union No. 173, have ratified a tentative agreement for a three-year contract that will run through September 2013.

Highlights of the contract include:

• The option for all members to remain in a revised defined benefit plan.

• Future cost-of-living adjustments at 2% per year beginning at age 65 or five years after retirement.

• No general wages in years one and two of the contract and a possible 3% wage increase in year three that’s tied to an increase in the city’s general fund assessed taxable valuation for fiscal year 2013.

• Medical plan employee contributions that remain at current levels, which is 1% times the base pay for all three years of the contract for single coverage.

The Teamsters ratified the agreement Thursday, and the Sarasota City Commission will vote on the agreement at a special meeting 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, at City Hall.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].