WCBC

November 30th, 2018 by WCBC Radio

The Hogan administration today announced that the state has completed negotiations and reached a tentative three-year agreement with the State Law Enforcement Officers Labor Alliance (SLEOLA). While this agreement has been reached with SLEOLA’s bargaining team, the final agreement must be ratified by a full member vote.

Through mutual cooperation and good faith negotiations, employees represented by SLEOLA will receive a five percent cost of living increase effective July 1, 2019; another one percent cost of living increase effective January 1, 2020 if revenues exceed projections by $75 million; another five percent cost of living increase effective July 1, 2020; along with a four percent cost of living increase on July 1, 2021.  Additionally, employees otherwise eligible will receive increments each year of the agreement.

The agreement also formalizes that the Student Loan Repayment initiative announced by Governor Larry Hogan in July, which will repay up to $20,000 in student loans, will be offered to all employees in SLEOLA’s bargaining unit.

“We have an obligation to make sure that we take care of our employees here in Maryland, and I’m proud to say that with this agreement we are doing just that,” said Department of Budget and Management Secretary David Brinkley. “I thank SLEOLA’s bargaining team for working with us to come to an agreement that works for the better of us all – our state, our taxpayers, and our employees.”

These increases are in addition to the two percent cost of living increase for state employees that takes effect in January 2019 and the half percent increase and $500 bonus employees will receive in April 2019 due to last year’s agreement.

This is the second agreement reached with a state employee union in the past month. Just last week the administration announced an agreement with the Maryland Professional Employees Council.