Members at Delta Star gathered for an informational meeting before casting their votes on the new agreement.
IBEW 1245 members at Delta Star, Inc. overwhelmingly ratified a new successor agreement by approximately 80%, with 122 of the 154 voting members approving the terms for a three-year agreement. Membership ballots were tallied on Thursday June 18, 2015.
“This agreement is the best agreement that IBEW members at Delta Star have seen in fifteen years,” said IBEW 1245 Business Rep Cruz Serna.
The new agreement provides for general wage increases of 4% this year and 3% for each of the remaining two years of the contract. It also includes a bonus plan, improvements to the pension plan, reduced health care co-pays and increased allowances for vital safety gear including eye protection and work boots.
The IBEW Shop Stewards held three separate employee explanation meetings on June 17, where they shared all of the elements of the agreement with the members at Delta Star. Following the explanations, many members expressed their appreciation to the Union’s negotiation committee, which was made up of shop stewards Danny Kutulas, Robert Candelaria, Sean Jacobs and Alberto Marquez, along with Local 1245 Business Representative Cruz Serna and Assistant Business Manager Ray Thomas.
“Cruz and I had great negotiating committee members at Delta Star, but a very special thanks goes out to Shop Steward Danny Kutulas, a 49-year Delta Star employee and IBEW member,” said IBEW 1245 Assistant Business Manager Ray Thomas. “Danny has been negotiating agreements at Delta Star since the early 1970s and he brought all of that history to our 2015 table. Danny was key in our achieving and ratifying the terms for this successor agreement.”