CSEA Court Workers To Get 13% Raises In 4-Year Contract

By MIA GOLDBERG

The Civil Service Employees Association reached a tentative agreement May 8 with the Office of Court Administration on a new contract that covers more than 6,000 non-judicial employees in the state's Unified Court System.

DANNY DONOHUE: Pleased with court deal.

The four-year agreement retroactive to April 1, 2007 provides 13-percent raises over four years, improved location pay for downstate and Mid-Hudson Valley employees and enhanced seniority bonuses.

'Fair, Responsible Deal'

"CSEA and the Unified Court System have reached a fair and responsible agreement that recognized the value and importance of the court employees who make the system work every day," said CSEA President Danny Donohue. "These were challenging negotiations and I am extremely proud of the focus and commitment of the CSEA bargaining team."

The CSEA agreed to defer salary increases for the roughly 500 employees who earn over $115,000 annually until after the issue of judicial pay raises is resolved. If there is no resolution by the contract's end, they will receive retroactive cost-of-living adjustments.

"We are pleased that we reached this agreement with our largest union," said OCA spokesperson David Bookstaver in a phone interview, noting it now has agreements with 11 of its 12 unions, the lone holdout being the Court Clerks Association.