BRADLEY BEACH — After over two years of negotiations, the Borough of Bradley Beach has reached a new contract agreement with Union Local No. 152 representatives whose membership includes town court, clerical, dispatch and public works staff members.
On Tuesday night, the Bradley Beach Borough Council passed a resolution officially authorizing the collective bargaining agreement between the two parties two months into Mayor Al Gubitosi’s tenure in charge of the borough.
“This was far too long in coming, we have wonderful employees who truly did not deserve to be put through this the past two years,” Gubitosi said at the meeting.
The agreement, which was a key resolution for Gubitosi during his campaign for mayor, marks a significant milestone for borough employees represented by the union as the new contract includes yearly wage increase for all members and retro pay dating back to the beginning of contract negotiations, according to Local 152 President Dan Ross Jr.
Ross told The Coast Star, “So far we’ve seen Mr. Gubitosi was a man of his word, he prioritized these workers, and ultimately our members on Monday ratified the contract overwhelmingly and we’re happy where we ended up.”
Ross said that the contract preserved benefits that the borough employees had, which he said was “really important” during the negotiation process and was part of the reason why negotiations to the two parties took over two years.
“The best way to put it was it was not concessionary, let me tell you what the previous administration was trying to do; they were trying to make their contract be concessionary and take away from benefits and these workers came out with no concessions, we were able to preserve benefits they’ve had,” Ross said, summarizing the contract negotiation.
Local 152 representatives, borough employees and members of the Bradley Beach Borough Council shared a mutual satisfaction at Tuesday night’s meeting after a resolution was passed by the council that authorized the issuance of a memorandum of agreement memorializing the terms of the agreement between the two parties.
Gubitosi told the audience, “I’d like to think we just met them halfway, we got to a point I feel where we are able to pay our employees with fair wage. Part of the agreement is we are paying retro pay… bringing people whole for the past two years. In my opinion it was a crime.”
The stalled negotiations became a point of discussion in Bradley Beach after union representatives and borough employees issued public statements calling for action and criticizing the borough’s handling of the negotiations at a borough council meeting in Feb. 2023 while former Mayor Larry Fox was in office.
On behalf of Local 152, Collective Bargaining Representative Chad Brooks looked back on the over two years of negotiations and said, “The last two months have been night and day as far as negotiations are concerned in contrast to the past two years. Two years ago we had an eight-page proposal that was nothing but concessions for this contract.”
Brooks recalled on Jan. 1 of this year that Gubitosi and the borough team reached out seeking to settle a contract. Looking back, Brooks said, “Between you and me, Mr. Mayor, I’ve had more conversations with you in the last two months than I had with the last mayor in the entire two years. I just appreciate that; we don’t always agree but we engage each other, we talked and we get to where we need to be.”
Union representatives commended Gubitosi and his negotiating team, made up of Acting Borough Administrator Matt Doherty and Borough Labor Attorney Alan Roth, for attentively getting to the table and negotiating a contract.
After public outcry, lawn signs in support of the borough employees without a contract began popping up outside houses across Bradley Beach.
“People don’t need all of those support signs, if you want to toss them you can toss them,” Councilman John Weber said before casting an affirmative vote on the resolution.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Nicole Browning, who works as a dispatcher for the borough said, “The care that was given and displayed was unprecedented, we were all seen and given the utmost respect by all of you up on the dais…It’s a new day and certainly a brighter future for our small jewel that is Bradley Beach. I cannot thank you all enough for your support.”
Councilman John Weber sought to dissolve concerns made by the past administration that a fair contract agreement to employees would “bankrupt the borough.” Doherty added, “It’s not going to bankrupt the town, all it does is put stress on hard working men and women whose families rely on these paychecks to pay their bills… the fact that the town held it up for virtually no good reason is really atrocious.”
Ahead of the successful passage of the resolution, Gubitosi commended the negotiators on the other side of the table and said, “I can’t help making sure I acknowledge the folks who sat across the table from us. Negotiations are a two-way street. Not only our employees and the Union, but the union representatives have sat on the opposite side of the table trying their hardest to get things done for our employees.”
The resolution authorized Roth to prepare the final collective bargaining agreement for the terms agreed upon. The contract became effective on Jan. 1, 2025 and will run until Dec. 31, 2027.
This is an excerpt of the print article. For more on this story, read The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
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