Great Falls, Mont – On November 30th, union members in the Great Falls Association of Office Personnel overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new contract. On the evening of Tuesday, November 28th, their bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with district officials.
Union members gathered at the Heritage Inn and were briefed on the specifics of the deal prior to voting. Office Personnel will see an 8% pay increase this year which will be retroactive to July 1st. Throughout the three-year deal, starting wages will jump to between $16.40 and $19.82, up from the current range of $13.59 to $16.73.
Office Personnel’s current average salary of $16.59 is roughly 83% of the average office staff pay in other school districts. By July 1st, 2025, their new average salary of $19.72 will be 99% of the AA average. A longevity payment starting in their 15th year of employment was also secured.
“What a week,” explained Association of Office Personnel President Daneen Pate in a press release. “On Monday, we were picketing and testifying at the school board meeting. Just four days later, we’re celebrating a monumental win. We know what it took to win this fair agreement and that includes the good faith negotiating we saw from district leaders.”
“This is a big win for us, our families, and the Great Falls students and families we take care of every day,” replied Ashlie Clark, in the same press release. “All of us worked so hard toward a common goal and with the school board’s approval, retroactive pay upwards of $700 will get to us just in time for Christmas.”
Following their ratification vote, union members celebrated over pizza. The ratified agreement now goes to the GFPS School Board for its approval on December 11th.
Author: Karen Anderson
Karen is the Editor-in-Chief overseeing all news operations at Foxys Publishing Co. She also loves photography and spending time with her dogs.
