Hudson County Executive Craig Guy is calling on AFSCME Local 2306 workers to negotiate in good faith after a walkout occurred on Wednesday, while the union says the county broke several promises.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“There are two separate issues in dispute here: retention bonus payments and contract negotiations due to a contract that expired on June 30th, 2024. Regarding retention bonuses, on March 21, 2020, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy announced via Executive Order No. 107, a stay-at-home order beginning on March 21, 2020 and ending on June 29, 2020,” Guy said in a lengthy statement.
“During the stay-at-home period, some workers who are members of AFSCME Local 2306, AFSCME Local 1697, and District 1199J, physically reported to work. Subsequently, for years the County entered into protracted discussions regarding retention bonuses for those eligible workers who physically reported to the office, but unfortunately, the County and unions were unable to come to a decision.”
He also said that he supports organized labor and their right to collectively bargain for a fair wage, highlighting that eligible Local 2306 workers were paid a retention bonus on March 7th.
The top county elected official continued that a clerical error indicated that the labor agreements were retroactive to March 1st, 2020, which was incorrect since the state of emergency began on March 21st, 2020.
While District 1199J amended their agreement, Local 2306 is refusing to do the same, according to Guy.
“Regarding the expired contract, Hudson County has been diligent in our efforts to negotiate a new contract. Unfortunately we have encountered many delays in the process solely caused by the union,” he added.
“In 2024, Hudson County attempted to enter into negotiations on three separate occasions, only to have the meetings postponed by union leadership. Hudson County continues to be willing to negotiate with AFSCME Local 2306 and we are eager to move forward in working with the Union leadership.”
In a long statement issued today, Local 2306 noted that the walkout was not organized by leadership, but simply my county workers that are tired of being misled.
“The protest was due to years of frustration with how Hudson County has failed to use its available money to fairly compensate workers, including those who were on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the County’s unilateral decision to renege on an agreement that they drafted, presented, reviewed, and signed off on,” they said.
“For years, AFSCME has been fighting to get Hudson County to fairly compensate our members. During a contract negotiation session in December 2024, the County unilaterally presented the framework of what they characterized as a “non-negotiable” sidebar agreement without union input. The County emphasized that 1199J and later AFSCME 1697 signed agreements with the same start date of March 1, 2020.”
The union further asserts that the county “unilaterally” changed the terms of the agreement and while 1199J agreed to the new terms, AFSCME 1967 and Local 2306 did not.
“AFSCME has been trying to negotiate in good faith with the County for a considerable period of time; in fact, on Wednesday afternoon the Officers and Executive Board members of Local 2306 were actively engaged in contract negotiations with the County,” they concluded.
“However, in order to negotiate in good faith there must be trust on both sides. The County’s decision to renege on an agreement they drafted, presented, reviewed, and signed has broken that trust. In order to restore that trust, the County needs to honor the original agreement they signed. AFSCME will continue to fight on behalf of its members for what is right and what is fair.”
Workers were not paid their retention bonus on March 7th. 98 people out of 250+ who are eligible were paid. Please revise this article.