Nassau CSEA contract: 25% total pay hike over 13 years

Nassau County's largest public employee union has approved a new contract after a six-year stalemate, advancing a deal that will boost employee wages by nearly 25% over 13 years.

Members of Nassau's Civil Service Employees Association, Local 830, approved the pact by a vote of 2,321 to 614 on Monday, union officials said. The contract also needs approval from the county legislature and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, the county's financial control board.

The CSEA's prior contract expired at the end of 2017 and the union has been working under the terms of an expired collective bargaining agreement since.

Union officials said they held firm as the county firmed up labor deals with law enforcement unions over the past few years.

Ron Gurrieri, president of Local 830, said employees won't have to contribute to their health care premiums, a sticking point in negotiations.

“CSEA did not want to settle for anything. The counties were more interested in tying up the police unions first, and we were staunch against paying for our health benefits," Gurrieri said. "We wanted to make sure we got the best deal we could for our people.”

The agreement is expected to cost the county about $810 million. 

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, said in a statement: "This agreement protects taxpayers' wallets while providing fair wages to our great county workers who have been working without a contract since 2017.”

Nassau Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello and Adam Barsky, NIFA's chairman, said the deal appears to meet key criteria for approval.

“Based on our initial review, this is a fair contract and in the best interest of Nassau's civil service employees and residents. The contract will be submitted to the full legislature in September for review," Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said in a statement.

The agreement appears similar to other labor deals that NIFA has approved, Barsky said. Based on cost estimates, the county has the "resources needed to pay for these labor contracts," he said.

CSEA represents workers in various jobs, from administrative assistants to physicians across the county's agencies including the jail, community college and public hospital.

The new contract affects 4,200 employees, Gurrieri said. More than 3,000 other Local 830 employees work for Nassau Health Care Corp., a public benefit corporation that operates Nassau University Medical Center and the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility. They are not affected by the new agreement, he said.

It would run, retroactively, from Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 30, 2030, and include the following:

• Union employees will contribute more toward their copays in a new plan under the New York State Health Insurance Program, Gurrieri said.
• The county will contribute $4 million annually to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement, with contributions increasing to $5 million in 2025 and $6 million in 2026.
• Effective July 2026, only employees with 20 years of government service who retire at age 55 can receive lifetime health benefits. Until then, the cap is 10 years.
• Employees will receive signing bonuses of $1,000 if they work less than 35-hour work weeks, or $3,000 if they work more than 35 hours, according to a union fact sheet.
• Employees who complete 15 years of service will receive a $2,000 "senior stipend" on Jan. 1, 2024.
• Workdays will increase by 15 minutes, with employees working 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., instead of until 4:45 p.m., for those working 35-hour weeks. The county will stop excusing lateness of less than six minutes, as part of a "grace period" at the start of employee shifts.

In recent years, the county also has agreed to new contracts with the Detectives Association Inc., the Superior Officers Association and the Police Benevolent Association. 

Only the Correction Officers Benevolent Association is working under the terms of an expired contract.

Its members rejected a deal with the Blakeman administration in September.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.