6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS LABOR AUGUST 21, 2026 Ann Arbor utility workers working without contract during highly strained negotiations Utility workers include water and wastewater operators, electrical lineworkers and maintenance workers. Over 300 Ann Arbor public service and water utility workers, represented by AFSCME Local 369, have been without a contract for eight months, since their previous agreement expired on December 31, 2025. Negotiations between the city and AFSCME Local 369 are ongoing but highly strained, with the union publicly accusing the city of failing to negotiate in good faith (reported by Mlive). Both sides have clashed openly regarding what constitutes fair pay and cost-of-living adjustments. Union members packed a City Council meeting July 20, 2026, to publicly demonstrate they have gone 29 months without a baseline pay raise amidst a rising cost of living. Workers argue that uncompetitive city wages are driving municipal employees out of residing in the very community they serve due to Ann Arbor's rising housing costs. City Administrator Milton Dohoney Jr. countered that AFSCME workers received a $1,250 lump-sum payment in 2025. He noted this was negotiated because other city groups similarly MIKE JONES Groundcover vendor No. 113 went a year without a cost-of-living adjustment during the pandemic. The city emphasizes that 84% of AFSCME workers remained eligible for tenure and performance-based step increases, meaning their actual takehome pay did increase even without a formal cost-of-living adjustment, reported the Michigan Daily. Water Treatment Plant Operator and current President of AFSCME Local 369 David Kastner stated, “The administration claims their market research shows that Ann Arbor pays competitively, but with all due respect that doesn't make any sense because Ypsilanti, Westland and Chelsea are offering starting pay 20-30% higher than ours. It's a tough pill AFSCME Real wage purchasing power over 20 years. Sourced from union local President David Kastner. to swallow that a third year hire in Chelsea currently makes more than a dedicated 22-year veteran.” Nicholas Nightwine, a city utility worker from the Water Resource Recovery Facility for 22 years, commented, “We are essential workers. The wildfires have been bad recently, I know there were warnings for people not to be outside, we can’t do that, our jobs are mostly outside. We do it, we do it proudly, and we do it with no complaints.” A city worker named Paul stated at the city council meeting, “I’m trying to stay in my home and the community where my family and kids grew up; this is important to me.” Closed negotiation sessions are coordinated directly between city administration and union representatives and are not listed publicly.
7 Publizr Home