Nesquehoning’s borough water authority has reached an agreement to create a union for its employees, covering them for three years even with the possible dissolution of the authority by the borough later this year.

During the borough authority’s June meeting, the board, in a 3-2 vote, approved the new three-year contract with Teamster Local 773, which runs retroactive from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2027. Casting votes in favor of the contract were authority members John McArdle, Paul Kattner and David Hawk, while Bob Pilla and Michael Radocha Jr. cast no votes. Both Kattner and Hawk are also members on borough council and have previously abstained in borough votes regarding water authority business.

McArdle, who serves as chairman of the authority, said Tuesday morning that the action taken last month to create the union was due to a formal request received from the employees asking to unionize. A unanimous vote in favor of unionizing by the requesting employees was approved last May by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.

Under the terms of the new contract, which was obtained through a Right To Know request:

• Water authority employees will be covered in the event of layoffs, with last hired employees the first to be laid off.

• The four employees currently under the authority will receive salary increases over the next three years, with the first increase retroactive to Feb. 1. These increases range from $4 per hour to $1 per hour annually and total $7 per hour per employee over the three years of the contract.

Employees currently make between $14.50 per hour to $31.04 per hour.

• Starting wages for any new employee will be set at $17 per hour for office clerks and $23 per hour for operators. Each position includes 3% raises annually.

• Employees receive 13 holidays and four personal days — with an additional personal day for the senior office clerk and senior operator; however, if work is performed on one of these holidays, that employee will be paid at a rate of 2.5 times their regular wage for that time worked.

• Vacation time will be granted based on the number of years of service, from one week for one to three years employment up to five weeks for 20 or more years. In the event an employee must return from a vacation to work, they will be paid 1.5 times their regular hourly rate and given another vacation period with paid for the same number of days they worked.

• Compensatory time is given to employees working outside of normal business hours when overtime pay is not paid and can be taken hourly and paid at the regular rate of pay. The senior office clerk and senior operator also receive 24 hours of comp time per year to attend monthly authority meetings.

• Employees and their dependents will receive Blue Cross and Blue Shield health care coverage, as well as family dental and vision plans paid for by the authority with the exception of a 4% employee copay.

• Employees will receive a $20 per month phone stipend for use of personal phones for borough business.

The authority also included a provision in the union contract regarding the possible dissolution of the authority into the borough, which states that if the authority is dissolved or absorbed into the borough, “each employee, if their position is eliminated or not offered a position with the Nesquehoning Borough, shall receive the following severance package:

• Each employee shall be paid out their full vacation balance.

• Each employee shall be paid out 100% of their accumulated sick time balance.

• Each employee shall receive 6 weeks of severance pay based on the employees’ hourly rate at 40 hours per week.

• Each employee shall be covered under the current Health Insurance for 6 months after employment has officially ended.”

The topic of dissolving the water authority is not off the table yet, with some council members requesting a meeting with the authority at the end of June’s meeting; however no further discussion took place at that time.

McArdle said Tuesday that a meeting between the borough and the authority is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 7.

Council must either renew the authority or dissolve it by the end of this year, when the 50-year agreement expires. Water authorities were created years ago to help municipalities be able to secure more funding for projects.

In April 2024, borough council, in a 4-0 vote, agreed to look at whether or not to dissolve the authority, which stands as its own separate entity, including having a separate budget. Council members Suzanne Smith, Paul Kattner and David Hawk all abstained from the vote due to either being on the water authority board or employed by the water authority.

At that meeting, both council and water authority members sparred about the possible dissolution.

McArdle said council had not expressed their intention with the authority until that meeting; while Councilwoman Lois Kuba said that borough authorities aren’t really as necessary as they were decades ago when they were used to float bonds for the municipalities.

Smith, at that time, questioned the action and said that discussion with union reps and doing a cost analysis to see if this would really save the borough money should occur.