City of Topeka to take up employment contract, asphalt purchase

An employment contract with Topeka street maintenance employees and Shawnee County’s emergency purchase of 828 tons of hot mix asphalt are among matters local governing bodies plan to take up this coming week. The city’s governing body, consisting of the nine council members and Mayor Michelle De La Isla, plans to consider entering into a three-year contract covering 2019 through 2021 with city street maintenance employees represented in collective bargaining by Teamsters Local No. 696.

The employees involved have approved the contract, which would provide a 1 percent across-the-board pay increase in each of the three years involved, said a document in the agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting.

The agreement would arrange for all employees it covers to be paid at least $15 an hour, that document said. It would create four classifications of workers and a comprehensive training program to ensure all employees can perform a wide variety of tasks.