As road projects resume operations across the state following the September lockout of Operating Engineers, Local 324 (OE 324) employees, the Laborers District Council and MITA have agreed to extend their current contract, which originally went into effect on June 1, 2013. The agreed upon wage increases and overtime adjustments will go into effect on June 1, 2019 and will extend through May 31, 2025.
The MITA Labor Relations Division Committee felt that this extension proposal that was offered up by the Laborers District Council was very fair and equitable, as it will help signatory contractors to be more competitive in attracting a quality workforce, while at the same time offering consistency amongst the various trades. The overtime adjustment is the exact same language that is in the Carpenters and Cement Masons collective bargaining agreements for road construction, and this extension gives the industry an opportunity to plan six years ahead. The negotiation on this extension took less than two weeks to complete and includes no other language changes other than the overtime adjustment.
Wages will increase on June 1 of each year of the six-year contract by $1.00/hour in 2019, $2.00/hour in 2020, $2.00/hour in 2021, $2.00/hour in 2022, $1.00/hour in 2023 and $1.50/hour in 2024 for every wage classification. Any fringe benefit adjustment will be allocated from the negotiated increase first or will come off the base rate. The breakdown will be determined by the Union.
The overtime adjustment is as follows:
Article VIII, Section 1
1. HOURS OF WORK/OVERTIME – Where a single shift is worked, ten (10) hours of continuous employment, except for a one-half (1/2) hour unpaid lunch period, shall constitute a day’s work, beginning on Monday through Saturday of each week. Where work is performed in excess of ten (10) hours on any of those days, or in excess of 40 hours Monday through Sunday, time and a half (1 ½) the base wages shall be paid.
The mutual agreement on this contract extension means that MITA contractors and Michigan Laborers can now focus on what they do best, which is getting back to the important work of addressing Michigan’s massive unmet infrastructure needs.
If you have any questions, please contact Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President, at 517-896-1493.
