Municipal union members OK loan to avoid Suffolk pay lag

Suffolk’s largest union, the Association of Municipal Employees, voted with a 62 percent turnout to loan the county $12 million from its benefit fund for one year to avert a lag payroll.

The union voted 1,974 to 1,134 in favor, with five votes discarded as illegible.

Under the deal, the county will pay the union benefit fund back over the next decade. The deal keeps workers from losing 10 days’ pay over 20 weeks. They would have to later recoup their deferrals at the pay rate upon leaving county employment.

“I’m glad we were able to give employees an alternative to a lag payroll,” said Dan Leverly, new AME president. ‘We gave them a choice and they made it.”