By David Porter

Town officials and the union that represents Department of Public Works employees have signed a new contract, ending a lengthy stalemate that stretched back to late 2024.

The Amherst DPW Association, which represents about five dozen employees, announced the new contract Thursday. According to the statement from the union, ADPWA membership ratified the contract in a vote on May 20 and signed it along with town officials on May 27. 

“It’s been a long tough road to reach this conclusion and we did it by standing together and with support from the public, our labor allies, and elected officials,” ADPWA President Andrew Brace said in a statement. “We are eager to see what the future will hold following ratification of this contract and hope that this is a stepping stone for further progress in following contracts.” 

Negotiations began in November 2024, and union members had worked without a contract since last July. Wages were a key sticking point during the negotiations, as the union had contended low pay compared to public works departments in surrounding towns, combined with the antiquated and crumbling DPW building on West Street, made it difficult to retain employees and avoid high turnover. 

According to Thursday’s statement from the union, the new contract addressed wage issues by reclassifying several positions to tackle pay disparities and adjusting pay scales to eliminate some lower steps and expand higher steps for all members in the bargaining unit. 

The next challenge for the town and DPW will be to shift employees out of the current, dilapidated headquarters to temporary locations while a plan to build a new DPW building inches forward. In April, the Town Council asked Town Manager Paul Bockelman to provide a relocation plan within 60 days, with the goal of moving employees by October 1.