What it means
A “Collective Bargaining Agreement” (CBA) is the result of extensive negotiations between the Town and an employee Union regarding topics such as wages, hours, benefits and terms and conditions of employment. As an overarching statement related to the four CBAs in Articles 14, 15, 16 & 17, the Town has had difficulty hiring due to Hampton’s wages being non-competitive with surrounding municipalities. Further, the Town Departments have trained employees only to have them leave for higher-paying positions in the area. Thus, there are many unfilled positions. When the Departments are understaffed, it affects the service levels for Hampton residents and contributes to higher costs by way of overtime pay for the employees that the Town does have. To address this, the first year of the contracts reflect a market rate adjustment. In the subsequent 2 years of each of the contracts, the increases range from 2% – 4% (different by group but all within that range). Articles 14 and 15 also incorporate a pay matrix, where the employees are recognized for their skill sets. That provides a way of rewarding employees to remain with the Town and still advance with regard to responsibility and with regard to pay.
Those opposed say: No one spoke against Articles 14, 15 16 or 17 at Deliberative Session. See each Article for more information.