The Teamsters Union Local 214 ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with Leelanau County earlier this month, increasing wages for 34 government employees by a gross of $56,705.
The Teamsters initially rejected the proposed Dec. 30, but they came back and accepted it a few days later without any further negotiations or changes to the agreement.
The agreement, which is effective through the end of 2027, has all full-time employees with the Teamsters working 40-hour weeks and eight-hour days. Previously, certain full-time employees worked 35-hour weeks with seven-hour days. It also schedules a 3% wage increase for the next payroll period, a 3% wage increase Jan. 1, 2026, and a 4% wage increase Jan. 1, 2027.
Discussion setting the terms of the agreement were carried out in closed sessions – parts of government meetings exempt from disclosure under the Michigan Open Meetings Act (OMA) – so elected officials and legal counsel could negotiate with union representatives behind closed doors.
These closed sessions were only for discussion. Per the OMA, public bodies must make actual decisions in open sessions.
Commissioner Alan Campbell, whose term did not start until after negotiations concluded, waited outside during some of these negotiations for the board to come back into open session. He said he feels the board of commissioners should provide better explanations to the public about what happens in closed sessions.
Campbell also requested that the finance department provide an audit showing how much more Teamsters employees are being paid on the newly ratified 2025 rate. The finance director provided this information to all the county commissioners and to the newspaper upon request.
The gross hourly rate increase was about $56,705, according to Finance Director Cathy Hartesvelt. Hartesvelt’s table also includes Federal Insurance Contributions Act and Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan figures for each Teamsters employee, bringing the total increase to about $67,109, according to Hartesvelt.
