Houston City Council approved the “best contract yet” for municipal workers Wednesday, giving raises of up to 12.5 percent over three years to some of the lowest paid city workers.
Houston Organization of Public Employees, or HOPE, represents more that 13,000 city workers across departments from Public Works and Solid Waste to City Council staff and 311 operators. Of the employees who benefit from the contract, 3,100 are HOPE members.
The contract brings them closer to their overall goals, but President Sonia Rico told the Landing after the vote that more progress was needed.
“We’re still not at a livable wage in some cases, so we still have to work on that,” Rico said.
RELATED: Whitmire, city workers union reach tentative agreement on 12 percent raises over three years
Under the new agreement, all employees will receive an additional $116 per pay period in the first year, about $3,000 total. Base wages for all eligible employees will increase by 3.5 percent in the second and third years, raising the city’s minimum wage to $18 per hour.
Rico and the city’s human resources team each presented the benefits of the contract to City Council labor’s committee on Monday, with the most significant including a policy requiring a 10-hour rest between shifts and four premium paid holidays.
Rico said HOPE will try to improve dispute resolution and safety practices in its next contract.
The city estimated the new contract will cost more than $75 million in additional spending from the general fund, separate from departmental budgets.
Mayor John Whitmire said when he announced the tentative contract that he factored in the increase to the 2025 budget. As the city faces a growing $230 million deficit, council members did express some concern as to how the city would pay for the deal.
The council approved a $1.5 billion settlement agreement and contract for the Houston firefighter union in June, and the city soon will enter negotiations with the police union. No plan has been announced on how the city will pay those costs.
In other council action
City Council also approved the creation of a new local government corporation which could lead to the expansion of an emergency telehealth program operated within the Houston Fire Department.
As a nonprofit corporation, Houston’s Emergency Telehealth and Navigation system, known as ETHAN, can raise its own funds and be used in other cities. Houston will provide more than $4 million in seed money for the first two years, but ETHAN officials told a City Council committee Oct. 9 they expected to bring in $9 million by the fifth year.
Councilmember Julian Ramirez supported the measure, but expressed concern over the program’s ability to create income.
“I hope that should this be successful, the board of this new LGC will consider an exit strategy where, perhaps, the concept and software and so forth can be sold for a profit,” Ramirez said.
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