Contracts for Islip Town employees include average 2% raises

Islip Town employees are set to get raises for the next three years under union contracts approved this week.

The Islip Town Board on Tuesday voted 5-0 to ratify the collective bargaining agreements with the United Public Service Employees Union’s blue- and white-collar units.

The contracts provide employees with an average 2 percent raise each year while staying “within the scope of our budget,” town spokeswoman Caroline Smith said.

Officials had budgeted about $48.8 million to salaries and wages and about $37.4 million to employee benefits this year, according to the town’s 2018 adopted budget.

Supervisor Angie Carpenter at the town board meeting thanked the negotiating team for a respectful process.

“Everyone came away feeling they got something but not everything,” Carpenter said.

Contract agreements were reached Monday, and the blue-collar and white-collar units approved the contracts respectively in a 200-8 vote and a 236-18 vote, town officials said. The contracts will cover Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2020.

Union president Kevin Boyle Jr. said in an interview Wednesday the contract is “fair” after working with town officials to “correct as many woes as we can” while recognizing the town has financial considerations.

“They’ve been historically the lowest paid town [employees] out there,” Boyle said, noting the contract seeks to close the salary gap with other towns and does not “have us falling further behind.”

Under the new contract, the salaries range from about $27,000 to around $50,000, he said.

Employees with at least 15 years of service will get an additional 0.5 percent salary increase. Employees in the top level of the salary scale with fewer than 15 years of service will get an additional 0.25 percent increase in years two and three.

The contracts standardize the vacation day accrual process by removing a second tier for employees hired after 2010. Annual vacation carry-over caps will increase from 15 to 20 days. Sick leave carry-over will rise from 150 to 175 days. Spouses of newly retired employees will no longer be able to maintain individual health care enrollment.

A new program will allow town officials to test employees for substances if two trained managers suspect them of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Employees who test positive would be sent for help after the first time and face disciplinary action, which could include firing, after the second time.

The agreements also create a perfect attendance award for employees who do not use sick leave in the second and third years of the contract, when they can sell back five days of sick leave to the town.

By Rachelle Blidner

rachelle.blidner@newsday.com@rachelleblidner

Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County government, politics and breaking news.