CANFIELD — After several years of back and forth negotiations, city council, by a 4-0 vote, accepted an agreement between the city and the Public Works members who belong to the Utility Workers United of America.

The collective bargaining agreement that Council approved actually began with negotiations in 2019. Although hampered somewhat by the pandemic, negotiations continued until some final sticking points had both sides drawing a line in the sand.

One of those sticking points involved call-out overtime. The final agreement was reached to pay time-and-a-half for all call-out hours in excess of the regular scheduled hours for the day, or over the 40-hour mark for the week.

On the wages side, labor will be paid a wage ranging from $26.46 to $28.21 depending on licenses the employee obtains. A laborer will start at $26.46 an hour. A laborer with a Class I Water Distribution License or a Class I Wastewater Collection License, would make $27.21 an hour. A laborer with both the wastewater and the water distribution licenses would make $28.21 an hour. The classes would see an increase of 53 to 56 cents hour for 2022, and 40 to 46 cents per hour in 2023.

Included in the agreement is a $325 clothing allowance and a $500 lump sum payment to be made within 30 days of the execution of the collective bargaining agreement.

Councilmen Chuck Tieche, Bruce Neff, Anthony Nacarato and Mayor Richard Duffett voted to accept the bargaining agreement. Council President John Morvay was absent for the meeting.

City Manager Wade Calhoun said on Nov. 3, both sides went through mediation that included unfair labor practice charges. Those charges regarded threatening union members and using government funds and time to persuade union members to vote a certain way. The city had challenged those charges.

As part of the agreement, the union agreed to drop the charges.

Union Representative Mark Brooks was on hand for the council vote, and afterwards said, “We are happy we were able to reach a settlement. It is all behind us now and it is time to move forward.”