City of Duluth reaches tentative agreement with city workers to avoid strike

The City of Duluth reached a tentative agreement with the AFSCME bargaining unit on behalf of AFSCME Local 66 on Monday, January 6. Local 66 represents nearly 500 city workers including library workers, utility workers, gas and water maintenance, snowplow drivers, inspectors, police records staff, and many others.

“This agreement reflects the City’s priority and focus on core city services, market adjustments that reflect realities of the post-pandemic labor market, and also better positions the City for hiring and retaining the very best skills and talent,” said Kelli Latuska, Public Information Officer for the city.

AFSCME Local 66 released the following statement, saying in part:

“This tentative agreement represents a very hard-fought victory for our members who work tirelessly every day to provide core city services to the residents of Duluth,” said Wendy Wohlwend, President of AFSCME Local 66 and City of Duluth Bargaining Unit Chair. “While we are excited to have reached this TA for our workers that will improve their lives, it should not have taken months of incredibly difficult negotiations and mediation with the City—or the need for our union members to overwhelmingly reject the city’s last offer and authorize a strike—to secure a fair contract from city leadership that has proclaimed itself to be pro-union.”

Max Hall, a representative with the union, said the tentative agreement includes a competitive wage increase, improvements to working conditions, and a commitment to retention and recruitment.

The agreement will now go to the union members for a vote. If ratified, the union says, it will avert the proposed strike.

AFSCME Local 66 had previously voted to authorize a strike in December.

The mediation session that resulted in the tentative agreement lasted 12 hours. The bargaining began in July.