The Buckley City Council chambers were packed during its last meeting with union members and supporters urging elected officials to approve a fair contract.

The Operating Engineers Local 302 union, which represents about two dozen city employees, made their displeasure with the city’s proposed contracts on Nov. 30 with a picket during the annual Christmas Tree lighting event.

According to City Administrator Courtney Brunell, this came as a surprise; she said both parties came to a tentative agreement in late October.

However, the contract was turned down after a membership vote on Nov. 26. Sources say it was a split vote.

Why the contract was turned down remained unclear until the Dec. 10 council meeting, when union representative Tony Frascone spoke during the public comment period.

Frascone said that union employees are tired of watching non-union staff receive double-digit cost of living (COLA) adjustment percentages while they’re stuck at levels like 2% and 3% annually, especially at a time when inflation rose at a higher rate.

“The union employees have really felt like this is their time, that they’ve worked hard and they deserve a fair contract,” he continued.

Frascone did not respond to multiple requests for comments.

Although Frascone talked about the difference in COLA adjustments, he may actually have meant some non-union employee wage increases instead, as there were no double-digit COLA adjustments among non-union staff, as previous budgets show that non-union employees received between 1% and 4.6% COLA adjustments over the last few years.

COLA COMPARE AND CONTRAST

The proposed 4-year agreement with the union included a 5% COLA (cost of living) wage increase to union members’ salaries in 2024, decreasing 1% each year to 2027 to 3%. However, an additional 3% COLA increase would be given to senior staff, for a total of 6% that year.

Then in 2028, all staff would receive between a final 3% to 5% COLA wage increase, depending on the CPPI (Consumer Price Index) of the Seattle-Tacoma area.

Additionally, several employees — including the wastewater treatment plant supervisor, the police records clerk, the support services officer, and custodians — would receive an immediate 5% wage increase starting Jan. 1, 2025 because a market analysis found they were being underpaid.

The previous contract shows that union employees received a 2% COLA increase in 2021, a 3% increase in both 2022 and 2023. The contract was extended one year, and union employees received a 4% COLA in 2024.

The city of Buckley’s website does not have 2020 council documents that include what non-union employee COLA increases were in the 2021 budget, but non-union received a 3% COLA increase in 2022 and a 4.6% in 2023.

The 2024 budget provided non-union employees with a 1% COLA, and a 3.4% COLA increase for part-time, and seasonal employees.

Finally, the recently-adopted 2025 budget provides for a 4% COLA for all non-union, part-time, and seasonal employees.

However, some employees received larger wage increases.

For example, the Public Services Director received a 10% increase in 2024, but that was due to the fact that the former Public Works Director and the Planning Director positions were combined, Brunell said. This position received a 7% wage increase this year, but that includes the COLA.

The city’s information systems manager also received a 14% wage increase this year, but Brunell said that a market analysis showed that he was being underpaid. This wage increase also includes the 4% COLA.

It’s the same story for the city’s management analyst, who received an 18% wage increase after it was determined the position was underpaid. This wage increase also includes the 4% COLA.

“The City strives to ensure all employees are compensated fairly and competitively. Market adjustments were made for specific salaried positions, [and] these adjustments reflect the unique circumstances of single positions and are carefully budgeted on a case-by-case basis,” Brunell said. “For our union positions, in the tentative agreement the City offered cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) alongside targeted market adjustments for select bargaining unit positions. It’s important to note that budgeting for 23 union members presents a significantly different financial impact compared to a single, non-represented position. These decisions are made with careful consideration of equity, market competitiveness, and the City’s long-term financial sustainability.”

THREAT TO STRIKE?

During his public comment, Frascone said that union employees “would not work without a contract.”

Council member Ron Smith reacted strongly to this “veiled threat.”

“I’m well aware of the fact that, having been a union leader before, that public employees cannot strike,” he said. “It’s illegal.”

According to the Revised Code of Washington, public employees can picket “for the sole purpose of truthfully advising the public of the existence of a dispute with the employer” and the state does not “permit or grant any public employee the right to strike or refuse to perform his or her official duties.”