Princeton’s Department of Public Works and Sewer Department employees are in line for salary increases that average 1.8% over four years, under the terms of a union contract approved by the Princeton Council.
The Princeton Council unanimously approved the agreement with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 1530 at its Feb. 2 meeting.
The contract is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020, and expires on Dec. 31, 2023.
The employees will receive pay increases of 1.75% for 2020 and 2021, and increases of 2% for 2022 and 2023.
Employees hired after 2014 and who have reached their fifth year of employment during the length of the contract are eligible for a one-time “market adjustment” of $2,500 to be added to their base pay. Other employees will receive a one-time market adjustment of $500 in 2022.
The salary range for an equipment operator was $66,777 to $68,298 for 2020, and grows to a range of $70,691 to $72,301 in the fourth year of the contract in 2023.
The salary range for a “tree person” was $50,422 to $68,298 in 2020. In the final year of the contract in 2023, the salary range is $53,377 to $72,301.
For 2020, the salary range for a laborer was $41,165 to $55,078 and for a truck driver, it was $44,242 to $59,452. At the end of the contract, the salary range for a laborer will be $43,578 to $58,306 and for a truck driver, it is $46,835 to $62,936.
A senior sewer maintenance employee was paid between $62,944 and $64,553 in 2020. The salary range will grow to $66,633 to $68,336.
Princeton Councilman Ever Niedergang thanked Administrator Marc Dashield for negotiating the contract with the AFSCME union, which she said is a “really major part” of the administrator’s job.
Niedergang said the contract offers “very fair terms” for the employees and for the town.
