Chisago County workers' union announces deal to end lengthy strike
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The union representing Chisago County workers who’ve been on strike for almost four months has ratified a tentative contract agreement.
Amy Perusse, with Teamsters Local 320, said all three groups of affected workers approved the three-year deal on Friday.
“Our folks are very excited to get back to work. This contract resolution gives them the wage and health insurance protections they were looking for, and so they are very excited to end this chapter and get back to serving the community,” Perusse said.
Perusse said the agreement addresses two main sticking points that led to the lengthy strike — including a wage increase of 20.5 percent over three years, and offering health insurance through the Teamsters.
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Perusse said the Teamsters health insurance plan is cheaper than that of other workers.
“The county wanted to keep that savings, and we felt that we should be treated and get the same health insurance contribution — regardless of which plan it went to — as other county workers.”
The county said it agreed to an employer contribution to the Teamsters health insurance, with a cap.
The county also said the agreement calls for a wage package with a “3 percent general increase in each of the first two years and a 4 percent general increase in the third year.” Perusse said the union is describing this as a 20.5 percent increase over three years because it’s combining the general increases and step increases from each year of the contract.
About 125 union members have been on strike since May 1 — representing about 30 percent of Chisago County employees. It includes health and human services workers and government center professionals. A small third group of engineering technicians wasn’t on strike, but “we were able to get a tentative agreement and ratify that for their group with the same conditions,” Perusse said.
The strike followed negotiations that had started last fall.
“This historic strike is equaled by the historic settlement,” Erik Skoog, the union’s secretary-treasurer and principal officer, said in a statement. “This was a battle of giants, and our sisters and brothers stood strong and won an amazing settlement.”
At nearly 120 days, the strike — while long — is not the longest public-sector strike in Minnesota history.
A spokesperson for the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services said the longest was by city workers in Park Rapids, who went on strike for 240 days. That strike ended in 1977.
