Providence City Council Meeting | June 12th, 2025
Call to Order and Roll Call (Public Hearing)
Chairwoman Helen Anthony called the public hearing of the Providence Committee on Finance to order. Attendance was taken noting the presence of committee members, council staff, and administration officials.
Public Hearing: Tentative Agreement with Local Union 1033
The committee held a public hearing regarding the tentative collective bargaining agreement between the City of Providence and Public Employees Local Union 1033. Testimony and presentations were delivered by Chief People Officer Paul Winspear and Local 1033 Business Manager Ronald Coia before the public hearing concluded.
Call to Order and Roll Call (Regular Meeting)
Chairwoman Helen Anthony called the regular Finance Committee meeting to order immediately following the public hearing. The clerk conducted a formal roll call, establishing a quorum of five members present.
Agenda Item 1: Tentative Agreement with Local Union 1033
Finance Director Sarah Silveria and administration staff presented the fiscal note and answered questions regarding wage increases, stipends, and disciplinary procedures in the Local 1033 contract. Following discussion, the committee voted to recommend approval of the tentative agreement to the full City Council.
Adjournment
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Councilor Taylor and seconded by Councilor AnderBois. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned.
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Good evening. My name is Helen Anthony. I'm chair of the committee on finance for the city of Providence. I'm calling to order the public hearing on Thursday, 06/12/2025 at about 05:39. Today, we have with us our committee members.
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We have counselor Graves. We have counselor Anderbaugh. We have Councilor Taylor. We have Councilor Sanchez, and of course, I'm present. And we also have Ken Ceverini from the city solicitor's office, as well as our wonderful clerks, Donna and Carissa.
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And I also see that counselor Peterson is is entering. Thank you very much for attending. So noted. And so with that, I think we will, madam clerk, would you please read agenda item number one, which is the only agenda item on for this evening.
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Communication from Mayor Brett P. Smiley dated 05/05/2025, submitting the tentative agreement by and between the city of Providence, Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Laborers District Council on behalf of public employees, local union ten thirty three of the Laborers International Union of North America, AFL CIO, for the period of 07/01/2025 through 06/30/2028.
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Wonderful. And who do we have that's going to present this evening? I see we have the a team.
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Can everyone hear me now? Okay. You can definitely hear me. Okay. Just wanna check that one more time.
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Excellent. Thank you. For the record, I am Paul Winspear, chief people officer for the city of Providence. Members of the city council, colleagues, and constituents, thank you for the opportunity to prepare before you today and to present the tentative agreement reached between the city of Providence and local ten thirty three. From the outset of this negotiation, the city entered a process with the honest understanding of our financial position, recognizing both the challenges we face today and the opportunities we must pursue to ensure stability in the years to come.
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Against that backdrop, our strategy was deliberate, to responsibly manage public dollars, uphold essential city services, and support the workforce who deliver those services daily. The city's goal was to preserve the value standards established in the current collective bargain agreement, which expires at the end of fiscal year twenty twenty five, while taking a practical approach to equitable wage growth, operational alignment, and cost containment. This tentative agreement reflects a forward looking compromise that safeguards the city's financial future, responds to labor market realities, and respects the needs of our workforce. Members of Local ten thirty three represent a significant segment of our municipal workforce, individuals who perform vital functions across administrative and labor departments. Notably, the average annual salary for members in this unit is approximately $60,000 which we understand much stress further today's cost of living environment.
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This agreement seeks to honor that contribution while maintaining prudent stewardship over the city's bottom line. Among the the key terms of the tentative agreement are the following, a one time 1,000 stipend $1,000 stipend, excuse me, to be issued in June 2025. This will be paid with money that is already budgeted for in this fiscal year's budget. Across the board, cost of living wage adjustments, COLOs of 2.75 in fiscal year twenty six, 3.5% in fiscal year twenty seven, and 5% in fiscal year twenty eight. Moderate increases that aim to provide relief while staying within our financial means and progress as the city's projected financial position improves.
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Enhancements to shift differentials and CDL stipends to $1 per hour and 75¢ per hour respectively, to attract and retain skilled workers in key labor roles, promoting and ensuring operational continuity, a gradual increase in employee health share employee health care co share contributions to 10% collectively over the life of the contract, acknowledging the rising health care costs while helping to offset the city's share. Small targeted increases in dental and union benefits trust contributions carefully limited to last year's agreement of this contract to avoid undue strain on the city's budget. Beyond compensation, this agreement addresses important structural and cultural changes. It adopts gender fairness, inclusive language throughout the contract. It aligns the definition of and application of seasonal employment with Rhode Island legal standards.
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It expands trial periods for job transfers and improved procedural clarity for disciplinary hearings, promoting both employee development and operational efficiency. More notably, this agreement includes a joint commitment to conduct a comprehensive wage study by the end of twenty twenty six with With awareness of the need to be more competitive regarding salary for our union workforce as mentioned by members of the council, this study will allow the city and the union to evaluate job classifications, pay equity, and market competitiveness. The findings will inform future salary planning and support a more data driven and equitable compensation structure going forward. This tentative agreement reflects months of thoughtful negotiation grounded in realism, respect, and responsibility. It is not just a labor contract.
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It is a strategic a strategic step forward in managing our workforce in a
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way that it strengthens service delivery, protects the city's finances, and builds trust with our employees. I want to extend my appreciation to both the city and the union, negotiating teams for their professionalism and partnership, Local ten thirty three, Ron Coia, Donald Iainazi, chief operating officer Courtney Hawkins, director of finance Sarah Silveria, and deputy city solicitor Ken Cheeverini, and to you, the council, for your ongoing commitment to good governance. I respectfully request your approval of this agreement,
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which represents a meaningful investment in our workforce and a disciplined approach to our shared future. Your review and approval of this tentative agreement will represent more than a ratification. It will affirm a shared belief in progress, equity, responsibility. Thank you.
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Thank you so much, chief. I know that we are going to be meeting on the rise. Is there, so we will have an opportunity for questions. But is it I think we might want to hear from all the proponents before we start asking our questions. Thank you so much, Chief.
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Thank you.
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And if you wouldn't mind staying, because we may have questions for you a little later.
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Understood. Thank you.
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Mr. Coia.
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Madam chairwoman, members of the council, I will be brief. My name is Ronald Coia and I'm the business manager and secretary treasurer of local union ten thirty three where I represent almost 800 public servants employed by the city of providence. I rise this evening in favor of the recently negotiated collective bargaining agreement between our union and the city that is both fair to our taxpayers and fair to our members. As you know, our members are the ones that make the City of Providence work. We plow the streets, we fix the potholes, we maintain and beautify our parks, we issue the licenses, and perform a wide a wide variety of other jobs that keep our city going.
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The CBA before you this evening ensures that our members can continue to perform these services at a fair wage both to them and to the taxpayers and with the benefits they need to support their families. Further, it goes a long way to acknowledge and reward and recognize the hard work and dedication to our city that our members display each and every day. I strongly urge you to ratify this contract and send a clear message to our members that their work is appreciated and valued by the city of Providence. Thank you very much.
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Thank you, Mr. Coia. Do I have anyone else that is here? Hold on just a minute. Forgot to ask for the sign in sheet.
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No wonder I'm wondering who's speaking. I guess we have heard from everyone who has signed the sheet. So there's no one else here to address the council during the public hearing on this issue. Okay. Hold on just a minute.
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Okay, so I am going to close the public hearing, and we don't have any shuffling to do. We are going to be going right into a finance meeting on the rise. So, everyone can sit tight, and we will be convening a regular meeting as soon as we just shuffle a few papers. So, with that, I'd like to close the public hearing. Thank you.
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Good evening. My name is Helen Anthony. I'm the chair of the committee on finance. I'm calling to order our regular meeting on Thursday, 06/12/2025 on the rise of the public hearing. Madam clerk, would you please call the roll?
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Chairwoman Anthony. Present. Vice chairman Taylor. Here. Councilor Anderbois.
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Present. Councilwoman Graves. Here. Councilor Sanchez.
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Present.
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We have five present. We have a quorum.
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Thank you so much. And I would like to recognize that we're joined by counselor Shelly Peterson this evening. Thank you very much. We also have our wonderful Ken Scheverini from the city solicitor's office and our wonderful clerks Carissa and Donna. Thank you so much.
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With that, madam clerk, would you please read agenda item number one?
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Communication from mayor Brett P Smiley dated 05/05/2025 submitting the tentative agreement by and between the city of Providence, Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Laborers District Council on behalf of public employees, local union ten thirty three the laborers international union of North America, AFL CIO, for the period of 07/01/2025 through 06/30/2028.
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Wonderful. And so I'd like to welcome whoever, I think we're probably gonna have some questions this evening, and rather than you all sit behind the bench, we're gonna invite you up to wherever, whatever seat has a mic. And first of all, if you would all stand in the front, and we'll swear you in.
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Please raise your right hand. Do you swear under penalty of perjury that the testimony you're about give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? And please state your names and your titles for the record.
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Thank you very much. So what we'll do is we'll have you sit there and maybe our kind tech person can please give them one extra mic on this side so that we can hear. Well, they might want to sit together. Thank you. Thank you so much.
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And don't think that you have to stand. If you prefer just to testify from your seat, you want to hand those out. Okay. All right. We're going to mark some things as exhibits.
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Are we also marking the fiscal note? Director, are we marking the fiscal note also? Or
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Yes. There's a fiscal note to hand out. Okay. Alright.
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So as we're passing these out, I would like a motion to mark the existing contract that is being amended as exhibit number one. So
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moved. Second.
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All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Okay. And then we are also on exhibit, so again, exhibit one is the existing agreement between the city of Providence and the ten thirty three.
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And then what we're I'd like a motion to mark exhibit two is the fiscal note regarding this contract. May I have a motion to mark this as exhibit two?
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So moved. Second. Great.
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All in favor? All opposed? Alright. Thank you very much. Would you like to walk us through anything that you haven't covered in the presentation?
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Chief Winsberry, I believe, has already gone through an overview, so I'm happy to, go through the fiscal note with you unless you have more questions for
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Well, we will have questions, but we but yes. Please walk us through the fiscal note.
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Okay. The parties have negotiated a three year agreement covering the period 07/01/2025 through 06/30/2028, with a total fiscal impact of $10,376,213 across the city and the water supply board. That is the total cumulative cost for all three years of this contract. The tentative agreement was unanimously ratified by the ten thirty three membership on 05/02/2025 and formally executed by the parties on the same day. Please note that the amendment agreement modifies the existing contract, which is set to expire on 06/30/2025.
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The key fiscal changes in this contract relate to health benefits, wages, and other fringe benefits. In the area of health benefits, there have been negotiated an increase in co share rates resulting in a savings of $311,769. This represents an increase of 3%, 3%, 4%, and an increase in the city's contribution to the local ten thirty three benefits expense costing 108,000 cumulatively across the three years of this contract. Moving on to wages and FICA. Salary increase, these are proposed to be 2.75% effective for fiscal year twenty six, 3.5% effective for fiscal year twenty seven, and 5% effective for fiscal year twenty eight.
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The total cost of the cumulative cost of these wages is $9,071,113. There's also a proposed increase to CDL and shift differential of 25¢ per hour. This is at a cost of $410,280. And just kind of a fun fact, I don't I went back fifteen years, and I have not seen these two stipends increase at least at least in the past fifteen years. So this is the first in in a long time.
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And then the FICA costs associated with these wage changes in fiscal twenty six is a $102,387. In fiscal twenty seven, $233,061. And fiscal twenty eight, $421,265. In other fringe benefits, there's an agreement to increase the payment to the IUNA pension fund by 5¢ an hour effective for fiscal '28, so the third year of the contract. There's an increase to the union benefit trust fund of 3¢ per hour annually beginning fiscal twenty six for a cost of $267,555 over those three years.