County union set for 1 percent bonus in 2016

A union concession from the recession is set to go away next year.

Miami-Dade’s largest union, AFSCME Local 199, agreed to a 1 percent reduction in base pay for the three-year contract adopted in 2011 shortly after Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez took office on a tax-cut pledge. Other unions also agreed to pay cuts to absorb some of the lost revenue in Gimenez’s first budget, but most saw their pay levels restored this year. AFSCME 199, with about 7,700 members, was an exception.

Instead, it agreed to a trigger tied to rising property values. On Tuesday, Gimenez sent union president Andy Madtes a letter stating the July 1 report on 2016 values, which shows a more than 9 percent gain countywide, was enough to eliminate the 1 percent reduction for the budget year that begins Oct. 1.

The raise will cost about $3.9 million, and was factored into the 2016 budget that Gimenez released earlier this month, according to the county budget office.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 3:28 PM with the headline "County union set for 1 percent bonus in 2016."