BMHA approves five-year contract agreements with unions

In May it received a better rating from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – from “troubled” to “substandard” – by improving efficiencies, staffing and resources, leaders said. The improved ranking means the authority is no longer in danger of receivership. City agencies recently approved the authority’s plans for the long-awaited, $200 million transformation of the aging, unusable Commodore Perry Homes east of downtown into a mixed-use, mixed-income development with 405 residential units in 27 buildings and 8,000 square feet of commercial space.

A 10-story mural on a wall of its Lyndon B. Johnson Apartments on Humboldt Parkway was unveiled last week, marking the first time the Buffalo AKG Art Museum has partnered with a public housing authority to create a public artwork. And it’s the tallest mural to date for the museum. 

And earlier this week, the BMHA board of commissioners reached agreements with two unions, AFSCME Local 264 and IUOE Local 17-S, on new five-year contracts. It’s the first time in decades that authority employees are not working under expired contracts for an extended period of time, BMHA officials said.

The proposals will raise wages for white-collar and blue-collar employees by a total of 17% over the life of the contracts.

The proposed contracts for the authority’s 140 unionized workers include 4% wage hikes in the first two years and 3% in each of the remaining three years. The agreements also include a one-time $1,500 upgrade in the first year.

The authority’s 19 exempt and nonrepresented staffers will receive the same pay boost and bonus.

The estimated cost of the agreements over the five-year term is $4.7 million.

“During 2023, many months prior to the June 30th expiration of the collective bargaining agreements, the executive team began negotiating in earnest with the…