Pepperell Selectmen Unanimously Approve Three-Year DPW Union Contract

PEPPERELL -- July 8, 2019, Pepperell selectmen unanimously ratified a three-year contract with the DPW union and heard that soil reclamation litigation is heading to a September court date. The Board of Selectmen voted Monday to approve the collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Council 93 AFL-CIO Local No. 1703, covering the town's highway, water, and sewer workers from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2022. The Town Administrator said the deal totals roughly 7.24 percent in wage increases over three years, averaging just under 2.4 percent annually, with a deliberately modest 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment in year one to ease fiscal 2020 budget pressure. Step increases were standardized to a uniform 2.75 percent. On the soil reclamation case, special counsel filed a joint Land Court statement on June 28 confirming both sides "do not believe that mediation or any other alternative dispute resolution would be productive at this stage," with the next court date set for September 30, 2019; the administrator noted the town "is not in favor of the project at any scale."