Eleven Bordentown, New Jersey, city public works employees recently ratified their first union contract — a four-year agreement that runs through December 31, 2028.
The group organized in late 2023, began bargaining the following December, and reached an agreement in July 2025. The deal delivers long-awaited pay equity and workplace structure for the city’s public works crew, which maintains parks, sanitation, streets, and other municipal services. According to Local 601 President Noel Christmas, the contract equalizes wages across job classifications in its first year, ensuring that “everyone doing the same work now receives the proper rate.”
City worker Ken Hyman, a member of the negotiating committee, said the team entered talks knowing “we couldn’t get everything in the first contract, but we laid a strong foundation for the future.” Upon ratification, all workers received retroactive raises dating back to Jan. 1, with increases ranging from 5% to 15%, depending on previous pay disparities.
The agreement also introduces defined job titles and descriptions, seniority provisions, and a clearer chain of command — reforms Hyman described as transformative. “Before, pay was all over the board,” he said. “Now there’s fairness and transparency. We came away with a lot more structure than we had before.”
Both sides faced a learning curve: this was the first collective-bargaining process for the employees and for the city. Hyman credited negotiations with building a more constructive relationship with the city superintendent. “We built respect through this,” he said. “Now that a structure is in place, future rounds should be smoother.”
The negotiating committee included Hyman, Christmas, Senior National Representative Valerie King, former National Representative Bob Houser, and Local 601’s attorney. “We achieved what we set out to do when we organized,” Hyman said. “This contract shows what solidarity can accomplish.”