New Kensington, Pa., Aug. 21. -- The New Kensington City Council today signed a contract with SCMWA Local 213 representing its employes -- the first such contract in the history of the community.  the written agreement is the third of its kind in Pennsylvania to date.  Other Pennsylvania cities under contract with the SCMWA are Reading and Jeanette.

 

        The contract was signed by Mayor Dick Reeser and R.J. Sinclair, councilman, together with President Harrison Heidrich and John Haser, representing the Union.  Several months of negotiations, conducted by officers of Local 213, by SCMWA Field Representative Foss Baker, and by council members, preceded the formal signing.
        The Contract provides for sole bargaining rights, vacations with pay for union members only, seniority rights, efficient grievance procedure, 40 hour week, and a clause that wage negotiations will be taken up in time for inclusion in the next budget.  No wage increases could b included in the pact, inasmuch as the city's present budget runs to January, 1940.  Negotiations for wage adjustments in the 1940 budget will take place in that time.
        Mayor Reeser, in presenting the agreement to council for final adoption, said:  "I believe it will lead to more harmonious relationships between the city employes and the city officials."  When told the vacation clause would apply only to members of the Union, he expressed the belief that all should join.
        Heidrich, president of the local, said:
        "We are living in practically a 100 per cent., union town, so the city should not be considered an exception when it comes to recognizing the rights of its workers."
        The text of the contract follows:  ..................................

Source: Pennsylvania Reporter, Volume II, No. 9,  September 1939: p. 1.