The AFSCME bargaining team reached an agreement with the University of Minnesota on Monday that includes a three-year contract for clerical, technical and health care workers. 

The agreement includes a $20 an hour minimum wage with the lowest paid workers to receive raises of more than $3 an hour along with market adjustments for technical and health care job classifications. For the second and third years on the contract, there will be a 4% cost of living increase. 

“We are thrilled to report we have reached a tentative agreement on a contract that is the best we have achieved regarding wages in 20 years,” AFSCME administrative worker Rachel Katkar said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. 

AFSCME went into bargaining with the University Nov. 1. 

Along with wage increases, the University will add Juneteenth as an additional paid holiday for 2023 and 2024. It is expected to be added to the University’s academic calendar in 2025, leaving Juneteenth as an additional paid holiday for all University employees instead of just AFSCME workers. 

In the racial equity portion of the contract, AFSCME workers can now take paid time off to participate in tribal elections, and there will be an augmentation for bilingual workers from 35 cents to 50 cents in the health care contract. 

Additional agreements include terms related to remote work, employee benefits and vacation requests.