ERIE COUNTY, NY— Today, Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz issued this statement following the Erie County Legislature’s unanimous vote to approve the contract agreement negotiated between the Civil Service Employees Association (“CSEA”) Local 815 and Erie County. Ratified by CSEA on July 30, the new agreement marks the fifth successful contract negotiation conducted by the Poloncarz administration, after reaching agreements with the CSEA Local 815 Erie County Corrections Officer Unit and Teamsters Local 264 in 2012, the Erie County Sheriff’s PBA in August 2013, and the NYS Nurses Association in September 2013.

“Today’s unanimous approval vote at the Legislature affirms the good work done by my administration and CSEA leadership in negotiating an agreement that is fair and equitable to members and is also cognizant of economic realities in Erie County. Open, good-faith discussions between both parties resulted in a contract that included concessions from both parties and will ultimately save Erie County hundreds of millions of dollars in health care costs in the long run. When I took office in January 2012, numerous lapsed contracts were waiting to be addressed, weighing down taxpayers with costly and outdated burdens from agreements that needed modernizing. I am pleased to say that, in two and a half years, this is the fifth successful contract negotiation we have completed, with new attitudes, new agreements, and new savings now in place.”