Common Council OKs Union Deal

The Buffalo Common Council is expected to give the green light today for new contract with the city's blue-collar workers' union. The nine-year deal includes raises averaging 20-percent. The workers, who collect trash, clean streets and maintain city buildings, have not had a raise in the past eight years. The new contract goes back to 2002 but pay raises would not be retroactively effective until July 2007. Majority Leader Richard Fontana says considering it is a nine-year deal, it is just over two-percent per year. The control board still has to sign off on the deal at their meeting on December 17th.