Vanderbilt University and Laborers International Union of North America, Local 386, the union representing approximately 600 employees in the custodial, grounds, food service and skilled crafts categories have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract.
The proposal is scheduled to be voted on by the membership of the union Friday. The tentative agreement was announced today after two days of meetings between representatives of the university and the union with a federal mediator.
The agreement calls for an increase in the base rate of pay to $10 per hour for workers in the lowest paid grade within the next 20 months; a guaranteed across-the-board annual increase of 3 percent in the first year of the contract and an increase of 3.5 percent in the second and third years of the agreement; implementation of a new program that will provide opportunities for the lower-paid employees to earn additional increases based on service and performance; and increases in shift differentials and on-call pay.
“After lengthy good faith negotiations, and with the help of a federal mediator, we have reached an agreement that both sides are pleased with and that will significantly benefit our employees and the university,” said Kevin Myatt, associate vice chancellor and chief human resource officer.
The contract will be effective immediately upon ratification and wages will be retroactive to November 2006.
The current contract, reached in 2001, expired in November 2006, though both parties agreed to continue operating under the current agreement until the contract negotiations were concluded.
Contact: Elizabeth Latt, 615-322-NEWS
elizabeth.p.latt@vanderbilt.edu