We are pleased to report that negotiations with the State are set to resume later this month over our DOC contract. Bargaining will continue through the month of July.

We anticipate those negotiations will result in an economic proposal that can be voted on by the membership. If that proposal is not acceptable to the majority of members, we have tentatively scheduled an interest arbitration hearing for the end of August. 

Until the new contract is in place, all components of our DOC contract will remain unchanged or “status quo".

Schedule for contract negotiations 

• June 29 - Negotiations
• July 13 - Negotiations
• July 15 - Negotiations
• July 19-23 - (Mediation, if necessary)
• August 23-27 - (Interest Arbitration Hearing, if necessary)

As you may recall, negotiations were put on hold as a result of an Unfair Labor Practice charge we filed with PERC last August over bad faith bargaining on behalf of the State. To accelerate the bargaining process, we agreed to cancel the ULP hearing and hold the charge "in abeyance". This means that we retain the right to reassert the charge if needed.

On May 20, we met with the members of our rank-and-file union negotiation committee to develop a strategy for upcoming negotiations. We have also met with financial experts at our International Teamsters Union and those from an outside law firm that we retain for the purposes of conducting a comparative compensation analysis. 

With the State's improved economic forecast, we believe we are in a stronger economic position now than we were last year in the midst of the COVID crisis.

We will continue to keep you updated throughout the bargaining process. If you have questions, please contact your Union Representative.