Brainerd City Council Approves Contract for Street Workers

The Brainerd City Council has approved the wage contract for the street workers in Brainerd. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 represents Brainerd’s street division employees.

The contract negotiations started back in October. The council unanimously approved a three-year contract, and they’re pleased with a relatively short negotiation process. With other negotiations taking place, the council says they want to make sure everyone is taken care of.

“We’re dealing with our employees. The council wants to treat them fairly, no question about that,” said Patrick Wussow, interim city administrator. “We have other union negotiations going on right now. There are seven bargaining units and one non bargaining unit that the city has. We hope we can all work together to make Brainerd a better community.”

Per the contract terms, the street workers will receive raises every January and July 1st from 2024 through 2026. Those raises range from 2% to 3.75%.