Babylon village reaches contract deal with CSEA for raises, new focus on commercial driver's license

The Village of Babylon has inked a new, seven-year deal with the village’s union representing blue-collar workers that includes yearly raises and a new focus on commercial drivers’ licenses.

The contract with the Civil Service Employees Association runs from June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2028. The CSEA’s previous contract with the village expired in 2019 but was extended for two years due to the pandemic, said Mayor Mary Adams.

"We all knew that [the new contract]...was really about the employees, the village, the taxpayer, so we were all on the same playing field," Adams said of contract negotiations. "All in all it’s a very fair contract."

The village’s CSEA unit president Jack Christ said in a statement that the contract negotiations had been positive. "We are all extremely happy with the results," he said.

The contract establishes a new, higher pay for employees who get their commercial driver’s license, or CDL. Previously, a full-time staffer would earn $14 an hour or $14.50 if they had a standard, Class D driver’s license.

Now existing and new full-time highway, parks, greenhouse and golf course laborers with a CDL will be paid $22 an hour, while those without a CDL will remain at $14 or $14.50 an hour. Sanitation department workers with a CDL will start at $17 an hour.

Sanitation workers don’t have set hours but finish when their pick-ups routes are finished, so they can earn extra income through jobs outside their village work, according to Village Attorney Matthew McDonough.

Adams said CDL licenses are important because they require truck driver training, which helps employees operate large equipment "safely and correctly."

All employees, regardless of their license status, will received a 50 cent per hour increase each year starting in June 2022.

Also in the new contract: the village can install GPS tracking devices on vehicles, and employees will be fined $50 for a first unauthorized absence and terminated pending a hearing on a second offense.

The village will institute a CDL training program, which Adams said, along with the raises, will hopefully encourage more employees to get a CDL license.

For the village, the most important part of the contract is its length. "The contract gives us stability for the next seven years," Adams said. "You never know with budget stresses what’s going on with the economic future."

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.