Workers at the homeless services nonprofit Central City Concern ratified a new three-year contract that raises wages at least 13% over three years. In a vote that ended Jan. 23, 97% voted to ratify the contract. This is the first contract negotiated for the full 750-worker unit.
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 88 has represented hundreds of Central City Concern workers for decades and added another 366 workers in a September 2024 union vote. Central City Concern and Local 88 then signed an agreement that gave the newly unionized workers protections that other workers had under their existing contract, but the newly unionized workers didn’t get any raises or new contract provisions.
The new contract establishes scales and sets a minimum wage of $21 per hour.
Workers get immediate across-the-board 5% cost of living adjustments in addition to raises of 2% to 23% from the new step scales.
For Chuck Kornbrodt, a bargaining team member and Central City Concern worker who helps clients find and retain employment, the new step scale would have raised his pay less than 1%. In a last-minute bargaining win, the union secured an agreement that workers will be placed on a wage step with at least a 2% raise.
Workers will also get 3% raises in October 2026 and October 2027.
The unit includes a wide range of positions, from janitors and maintenance workers to medical assistants and case managers. Before the raises in the new contract, the lowest-paid positions started below $20 an hour.
The new contract was ratified almost four months after the last contract expired. The raises aren’t retroactive, but workers are getting a $1,500 ratification bonus.
The contract also offers sabbaticals for longtime employees and commits Central City Concern to working with AFSCME on a program to help workers earn mental health treatment certifications.
Longtime bargaining team members felt this round of negotiations was the most collaborative bargaining they’d been a part of with Central City Concern, said Kornbrodt. Labor-management relations were tense under Central City Concern’s previous CEO, but started on a positive trajectory after Andy Mendenhall became CEO in July 2022.
More than 40% of Central City Concern workers are people who previously received services from the nonprofit.
Kornbrodt said he and fellow bargaining team members shared a mindset of “we love working here, but we can’t afford to.”
“This contract goes a long way towards making sure that we can continue to work here, that we can continue to work for a company that we respect, and also be able to do the things that we need to do in our personal lives,” Kornbrodt said.
