DULUTH -- Dozens of city employees in Virginia, Minn., returned to work Wednesday, slightly more than a week after walking off the job amid contentious contract negotiations with city officials.
Strike ends in Iron Range city as Virginia employees go back to work
The contract is “substantially” the same as one the union approved and the city pulled last week.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 13, 2024 at 3:30PM
Members of AFSCME Local 454, which includes workers from departments including the public library, parks and rec, and various city buildings including City Hall, said that after eight hours of negotiations, a tentative agreement was approved by the City Council on Tuesday night. The majority of union members favored the contract, according to a news release from AFSCME Local 454.
The City Council presented a “last, best, final offer” on Feb. 27, a contract union employees supported. By the time they approved it, the offer had been pulled -- officials citing the effects it would have on the Iron Range city’s budget and staffing levels. Employees began picketing on March 6, setting up in front of the library, City Hall and other buildings staffed by union members.
The offer that was tentatively approved on Tuesday is “substantially the same” as the one that was pulled, according to Ezra Kane-Salafia, of AFSCME.
“We’ve glad to be back to work for the citizens of Virginia,” Union President Scott DaRonco said in the release. “This was a fair deal when they bait-and-switched us last week. It’s still a fair deal today, but it’s unfortunate that the city council decided to screw around with 62 working families and the citizens of Virginia just to get back to that fair deal.”
The agreement includes a base wage increase with a cumulative total of 10.5% over the next three years. City Administrator Britt See-Benes said the raise will add about $141,000 to the city’s overall budget in 2024 and $323,000 in 2025-26.
“This has been a difficult time for all of us and we look forward to moving together as a team as we serve Virginia’s citizens,” See-Benes said in a news release.
Shannon Douvier, executive director of AFSCME Council 65, said in a news release that employees overwhelmingly voted to approve the contract.
These Minnesotans are poised to play prominent roles in state and national politics in the coming years.
