I’m excited to announce a major breakthrough in our total comp bargaining with King County.

Late yesterday afternoon, our Coalition of Unions achieved a tentative agreement with the County over all compensation elements in your contract. The agreement is fully recommended by your Union bargaining committee.

The agreement includes a 2.25 percent general wage increase in 2017 for all coalition members and a 2.75 percent increase in 2018 provided that the Union signs onto a separately-negotiated Master Agreement by the end of next year.

For the first time, the work of King County Union members will be recognized through a Coalition Premium and a separate wage table for Coalition members.

The agreement will increase the employer contributions to your health and welfare coverage. This means you will not pay any additional health care premium costs for 2017-2018.

We also achieved one additional vacation day added in 2017 and two vacation days added in 2018.

You can view an update from the Coalition with more details about the agreement here.

Our journey through the total comp bargaining process started over a year ago. It’s been an incredibly challenging experience. There have been many points along the way when it looked like negotiations would fall apart.

Our commitment, perseverance, and the outstanding work of your Union bargaining committee kept us together. Our team brought the voice of the entire membership to the table in powerful, persuasive ways.

I hope you’ll join me in extending my gratitude and appreciation to our entire team.

Over the next several weeks, we will coordinate meetings across the County to discuss the proposal. You will have an opportunity to vote on the agreement before the end of the year. We’ll let you know as soon as we have more information about the voting process.

Thank you for the important service you provide to our community and thank you for your membership in Teamsters Local 117.