The union representing employees of the Peoria Housing Authority may soon have a new three year contract.
PHA board members voted unanimously Monday to approve a contract for members of the local AFSCME 3464 Peoria union.
Union workers must now vote to ratify the contract.
If ratified, the contract would cover three years starting Jan. 1, 2021 (wage increases for the current year would be retroactively applied.)
PHA acting director Jackie Newman told WCBU she is happy with the current contract — the result of nine months of negotiations.
"We're happy with the contract we were able to negotiate with AFSCME," she said. "We're concerned about our employees, and them having a fair wage, based on the funding revenues we receive."
The PHA's budget is largely determined by how much money the authority receives from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Newman said.
"When our revenues are limited and cut, then we have to make sure we keep the housing authority in a financially solvent position for operations," she said, "while at the same time, making sure that we take care of our employees that are doing the work."
Hourly wages currently start just above $12.
Newman said she could not disclose the newly proposed starting wage or other details of the proposed contract.
Reached by text message Monday, AFSCME 3464 president Rhonda Sexton said she couldn't comment on ongoing negotiations until union voting is completed.
In October, Sexton told WCBU that PHA lost six union jobs in six months. Two of those workers left the PHA to work for the Wisconsin-based developer redeveloping Taft Homes into Providence Pointe.
