Council approves collective bargaining agreement

City Council members approved a collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local Union 117, the Public Assemblies Facilities Unit, which covers 24 employees who work at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, during the March 8 meeting. The employees will receive a general wage increase of 2.5 percent effective Jan. 1, 2005, and subsequent wage increases in 2006 and 2007 of an amount equal to 100 percent of the increase in the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) in the Seattle-Tacoma area, based on the June index.