School board approves AFSCME contract

The Oxford Schools Board of Education has approved a three-year contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local #1472.
AFSCME Local #1472 consists of the transportation department, custodians and maintenance personnel, and food service workers. The contract is set to run from Sept. 1, 2003 through August 2006.
According to the agreement, union workers will receive a 1.5 percent increase for the first year, a 2 percent increase the second and a 2.5 percent increase the third. The union agreed to take a cutback in prescription health coverage, which changes participant’s copay for medications from $3 to $10, in exchange for the increases.
In addition to the increases, the contracts also called for updating several compensation items, such as raising the reimbursement for bus drivers to receive their CDL from $60 to $65, and adding a payment of $250 per mechanic per year for the transportation department’s bus maintenance staff to receive their required training.
All mechanics are required to receive certification in at least five or more areas each year.