ALMOST TWO YEARS after they voted to join Council 2, 85 technical and professional employees of the City of Lynnwood, Local 3035, have completed writing a contract that covers their pay, benefits and working conditions.

Negotiations started in January last year and took some time because they were complex, says Joe Devlaeminck, Council 2’s staff representative who has been assigned specifically to negotiate first-time contracts. The new agreement was ratified by the membership in mid-February.

“Most of the employees are very happy with the results,” Devlaeminck adds. “The contract is a good foundation to build on for the future. Some of the City’s policies were old and needed to be updated. This does that.”

Bill Keenan, Council 2’s Director of Organizing, says the contract is significant as, before the ratification, Lynnwood was the last major city in Snohomish and King counties to be without a contract.

Not only does this contract fill the gap, but it provides a comparison for other cities in the region, Keenan says.
Among the provisions in the new contract:

• A new, well defined procedure for layoffs.

• Martin Luther King Day becomes a holiday and all employees gain one or two additional days of vacation, depending on their length of service with the City.

• Part-time employees who work at least 1,040 hours a year now attain seniority and gain prorated medical benefits, based on the number of hours they work during the year.

• Employees receive almost double the amount of additional income for long service than they did previously.

• Employees now have a grievance procedure, which they did not have before.

• Nearly all aspects of employment are better defined than they were.

Devlaeminck says Local 3035 president Linda Alvar played an important part in the leadership of the negotiations.

“She and the other members of the negotiating team were there faithfully every day,” Devlaeminck said.
“They worked hard and long hours to make sure it was a good contract and that it achieved the results that they expected when they set out to bargain the agreement.
“It is not easy bargaining for the first time, but they soon picked up on the strategy and the process.
“Toward the end they held tough all the way.”