“When we fight, we win!” CWA Local 1037 members at Passaic County Board of Social Services (PCBSS) voted a unanimous ‘Yes!’ to ratify a new union contract. A tentative agreement was reached last week between CWA and PCBSS, concluding a two-year bargaining fight that saw workers mobilizing via rallies, pickets, petitions, and more.

“The voices of the people were heard,” said 1037 Shop Steward Marsheena Edwards, a Human Services Specialist II at PCBSS. “We have been without a contract for a long time, but we stood strong together through it all.”

The new contract includes across-the-board wage increases of 3.25%, 3.25%, and 3%, protections for current longevity pay, and more. “I’m glad all of our benefits were protected. We didn’t lose anything, instead we gained,” said Sara Silva-Ramirez, also a Human Services Specialist at PCBSS.

Members made their voices heard at the ballot on March 12 at all three PCBSS locations. Once ratified, the contract will be retroactively effective from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024.