An arbitration panel has awarded a city union pay raises totaling 6.25 percent, even as Hartford's financial problems continue to mount, the Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported yesterday. The Hartford Municipal Employees Association received the raises retroactively as part of a contract that ran from July 2013 to June 2017. The group is now negotiating a new agreement with the city for future years. Former city leaders offered HMEA a 5 percent raise over the course of the contract, while the union sought a 7.5 percent pay increase. Arbitrators ultimately awarded the group 6.25 percent. The group made concessions in other areas — health care and pension contributions rose, and members agreed to eliminate a practice known as "runout," which allowed employees to remain on the books for weeks or months after they departed their city positions. Runout let workers stay on the payroll for the duration of their unused sick and vacation time. During that period, they were able to continue collecting paychecks and benefiting from the city's health insurance plan. The city abolished the practice for nonunion employees in 2013.
