Bruce Blakeman, Nassau CSEA reach tentative 13-year pact
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in Mineola on Jan. 12. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and leaders of the county's largest public employee union have tentatively agreed to a new contract that raises wages nearly 25% over 13 years, according to a memorandum of understanding obtained by Newsday.
The deal with the Civil Service Employees Association, CSEA Local 830, is expected to cost the county about $810 million, said a county official who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about negotiations.
The union's 8,000 members have been working under the terms of an expired collective bargaining agreement since 2017.
CSEA represents workers in various jobs, from administrative assistants to physicians across the county's agencies including the jail, community college and public hospital.
Union members are set to vote on the agreement Aug. 21. Informational sessions are scheduled Aug.14 and Aug. 16, according to a letter distributed to members.
The contract also requires the approval of the 19-member county legislature and the county's financial control board, Nassau Interim Finance Authority.
"This agreement protects our members long standing benefits, unifies our membership, and delivers the proper support necessary to help our membership continue to provide the highest levels of service to the residents of Nassau County," CSEA Local 830 President Ron Gurrieri wrote to members in the letter. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
The deal would run, retroactively, from Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 30, 2030. It includes signing bonuses of $3,000 for full-time employees, $1,000 for those who work fewer than 35 hours per week and $250 for part-time employees, according to the MOU.
Beginning in January 2024, all active and retired members of CSEA would transition to the NYSHIP Excelsior Plan, the state's health benefits program, and the county would create a health care reimbursement account and contribute $4,000 annually to offset the differences in co-pay from the current health plan. Union members were previously covered by Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield.
The county would contribute a fixed $4 million toward health care costs, rising $1 million annually beginning with the transition to the Excelsior plan, according to the MOU.
Blakeman, in a statement, called the negotiations with CSEA "extensive."
"This agreement provides fair wages for our outstanding county employees while at the same time protecting the taxpayers by ensuring a predictable cost over the next seven years," he said.
It would be the second major union contract settled since Blakeman, a Republican, took office in January 2022.
Nassau's Police Benevolent Association in late January ratified its new labor agreement with the county, raising wages by a total of 15% over 8 1/2 years.
Last August, members of Nassau's Sheriff's Corrections Officers Benevolent Association voted down a contract agreement between Blakeman and leaders of that union.
COBA President Brian Sullivan said recently he hoped to resume negotiations.
Nassau's five employee union contracts expired in 2017.
Two were settled under the administration of Blakeman's predecessor, Laura Curran, a Democrat. One was with the union representing the county's detectives, and the other was with the union representing the county's top brass police.
The CSEA deal "brings some certainty for taxpayers and county employees who have been working without a contract and it means that the people running the county can move on to other issues with the security of knowing what they'll have to spend," said Larry Levy, executive dean of suburban studies at Hofstra University.
He said the inclusion of annual raises between 2% and 3% "doesn't seem to be more than inflation over the long run, so there shouldn't be too many surprises."
"Employers all over the country are having a difficult time retaining people doing their jobs. It's no surprise that Nassau County and businesses are going to have to pay more," Levy said.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and leaders of the county's largest public employee union have tentatively agreed to a new contract that raises wages nearly 25% over 13 years, according to a memorandum of understanding obtained by Newsday.
The deal with the Civil Service Employees Association, CSEA Local 830, is expected to cost the county about $810 million, said a county official who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about negotiations.
The union's 8,000 members have been working under the terms of an expired collective bargaining agreement since 2017.
CSEA represents workers in various jobs, from administrative assistants to physicians across the county's agencies including the jail, community college and public hospital.
Union members are set to vote on the agreement Aug. 21. Informational sessions are scheduled Aug.14 and Aug. 16, according to a letter distributed to members.
The contract also requires the approval of the 19-member county legislature and the county's financial control board, Nassau Interim Finance Authority.
"This agreement protects our members long standing benefits, unifies our membership, and delivers the proper support necessary to help our membership continue to provide the highest levels of service to the residents of Nassau County," CSEA Local 830 President Ron Gurrieri wrote to members in the letter. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
The deal would run, retroactively, from Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 30, 2030. It includes signing bonuses of $3,000 for full-time employees, $1,000 for those who work fewer than 35 hours per week and $250 for part-time employees, according to the MOU.
Beginning in January 2024, all active and retired members of CSEA would transition to the NYSHIP Excelsior Plan, the state's health benefits program, and the county would create a health care reimbursement account and contribute $4,000 annually to offset the differences in co-pay from the current health plan. Union members were previously covered by Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield.
The county would contribute a fixed $4 million toward health care costs, rising $1 million annually beginning with the transition to the Excelsior plan, according to the MOU.
Blakeman, in a statement, called the negotiations with CSEA "extensive."
"This agreement provides fair wages for our outstanding county employees while at the same time protecting the taxpayers by ensuring a predictable cost over the next seven years," he said.
It would be the second major union contract settled since Blakeman, a Republican, took office in January 2022.
Nassau's Police Benevolent Association in late January ratified its new labor agreement with the county, raising wages by a total of 15% over 8 1/2 years.
Last August, members of Nassau's Sheriff's Corrections Officers Benevolent Association voted down a contract agreement between Blakeman and leaders of that union.
COBA President Brian Sullivan said recently he hoped to resume negotiations.
Nassau's five employee union contracts expired in 2017.
Two were settled under the administration of Blakeman's predecessor, Laura Curran, a Democrat. One was with the union representing the county's detectives, and the other was with the union representing the county's top brass police.
The CSEA deal "brings some certainty for taxpayers and county employees who have been working without a contract and it means that the people running the county can move on to other issues with the security of knowing what they'll have to spend," said Larry Levy, executive dean of suburban studies at Hofstra University.
He said the inclusion of annual raises between 2% and 3% "doesn't seem to be more than inflation over the long run, so there shouldn't be too many surprises."
"Employers all over the country are having a difficult time retaining people doing their jobs. It's no surprise that Nassau County and businesses are going to have to pay more," Levy said.
Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.
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