South Brunswick Amends Pay For Workers Under New Union Contract

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — During the last council meeting, the township introduced two ordinances providing a pay plan for union as well as non-union employees.

One ordinance authorizes positions and provides a pay plan for employees based on a collective bargaining agreement between the Township and AFSCME Local 2242.

Both ordinances were introduced and passed on the first reading during the April 11 meeting and will be considered on the second reading and final passage at the April 23 meeting.

Deputy Mayor Joe Camarota thanked township manager Bryan Bidlack and his team for working on the ordinances and negotiating with workers.

“This could be a very contentious issue if you read the newspaper about the strike over at Rutgers,” Camarota said, referring to the teacher striker at Rutgers University. “We were able to bring this in at a very reasonable rate.”

More: Murphy Hosts Noon Meeting With Rutgers Faculty, Admin As Strike Begins

Township employees who are AFSCME union members include account clerks, secretaries, crime prevention aids, planning assistants and telecommunications technicians.

The collective bargaining agreement is for 2023-2027 and will become effective 20 days after its final passage. Other employees of the township will also see a rise in their salaries.

According to reports, 2022 saw an uptick in labor organizations in America. Researchers at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations recently released a report, tracking labor action across the country.

The report found that strikes were up 52 percent in 2022 over the previous year. The National Labor Relations Board saw 2,510 union representation petitions filed in 2022.

Employees across the country are increasingly expressing discontent at the workplace, especially since wages have not been able to keep up with inflation.

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