Houston, union agree on city worker pay hike (the pact would be a first for a city in Texas)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5596496.html

March 5, 2008, 10:34PM
Houston, union agree on city worker pay hike
If both sides vote to ratify, the pact would be a first for a city in Texas

By CAROLYN FEIBEL and L.M. SIXEL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Houston and a municipal union announced a tentative agreement Wednesday for a three-year contract that would cover 13,200 city workers and boost minimum pay to $10 an hour by the end of next year.

To finalize the contract, union members and City Council must vote to approve it. If both sides agree, Houston could become the first city in Texas to sign a union contract with its civilian employees, those workers who are not police officers or firefighters.

The Houston Organization of Public Employees, or HOPE, has been negotiating for 11 months.

The proposed contract calls for an immediate, across-the-board 3 percent pay increase, followed by an annual 3 percent increase in fiscal 2010 and 2011. In addition, each year the city would create a "performance pay pool" equivalent to 1.25 percent of the payroll. The pool would fund merit pay increases based on employee performance and reviews.

City officials estimate the total cost of the compensation package at $179 million during the three-year term.

The union plans to vote within two weeks, after which the proposal will come before council, said Norman Yen, the HOPE president.

FULL story at link.