By George P. Hassett

Unit A members of the Somerville Municipal Employees Association (SMEA) have ratified a new 3-year contract that calls for retroactive, cumulative salary increases of 2 percent for last year and this year, and a 3 percent raise for the fiscal year that begins July 1, according to city officials.

SMEA workers also agreed to pay a greater share of their health insurance costs. The new contract states,  ‚ÄúThe City‚Äôs share in healthcare premiums shall not be less than 80 percent.  Any increase in existing employee contributions shall note be more than 5% in any fiscal year.‚Äù  Under past agreements, the city had paid 90 percent the cost of most union employees‚Äô health insurance.  SMEA now joins seven other collective bargaining units and the city‚Äôs non-union workforce in shouldering a larger share of the city‚Äôs soaring healthcare costs, said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. Curtatone called the rising health care costs a ‚Äúbudget buster,‚Äù last week.

‚ÄúThe Unit A bargaining team negotiated aggressively and fairly for the interests of their membership,‚Äù said Mayor Curtatone.  ‚ÄúI think SMEA recognizes that the long-term fiscal strength and prosperity of the city and the financial well-being of its union workers really go hand in hand. Our taxpayers can take satisfaction in the fact that, while Unit A‚Äôs workers received significant wage increases, they have also agreed to do their part in coping with our fastest-growing cost center: health insurance.‚Äù

SMEA President Mike Browne said his union is happy with the results of the negotiation.

‚ÄúThrough this contract and through this vote, SMEA‚Äôs rank and file sent a loud and clear message that we are firmly in control of our own destiny and that we are committed to this city,‚Äù he said.  ‚ÄúAbove all, what this contract demonstrates is that, as a bargaining unit, we are intimately in touch with the needs and concerns of our membership.‚Äù 

SMEA Unit A, which represents 29 city workers in a wide range of professional and supervisory positions, becomes the eighth city bargaining unit to sign a contract this fiscal year, said Curtatone.

Browne said the new Unit A contract represents a significant departure from past agreements.  ‚ÄúFor the first time in recent memory, SMEA will be operating under a current contract as we enter a new fiscal year,‚Äù he said.  In the past, the city and Unit A have usually agreed to retroactive contracts only, said city officials.