New Castle County has agreed to a new contract with its paramedics and 911 call takers.
Union membership voted 63-1 to accept the contract Wednesday night, which includes $610,000 savings for the county, achieved through overtime pay cuts, floating holidays and employee healthcare contribution increases, are equivalent to the 5 percent salary cuts accepted by much of the government's workforce.
"It was just a matter of them being willing to sit down and talk," said Kenny Dunn, who led negotiations for AFSCME Local 3911. "We were always willing to give back as long as it was done within the language of our contract."
The contract is retroactive to April 1, 2008, and expires June 30, 2011. As part of the agreement, the county will not lay off additional Local 3911 members over the next two years. Nine entry-level paramedics were let go this spring.
