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UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br />TO:FROM: <br />ERMU CommissionMark Hanson - General Manager <br />MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br />October 10, 2023 5.3 <br />SUBJECT: <br />Wage & Benefits Committee Update <br />ACTION REQUESTED: <br />Provide direction on future action requests related to 2024 Wages & Benefits; 2023/24 market <br />analysis/compensation study; and Wage & Benefits Committee organizational changes <br />DISCUSSION: <br />A Wage & Benefits Committee (WBC) meeting was held on Monday, October 2, 2023, to review <br />employee requests from the August 18 meeting. Staff presented the following requests <br />(attached): a wage adjustment of the lineworker metro average plus $1.00 for all employees; <br />tiered updates to the bereavement leave policy, with the broadest category increasing to five <br />days; changes to nightwork and rest time policy; and a suggestion to review the vacation <br />schedule for possible changes to make ERMU more attractive to new(er) employees. <br /> <br />General Manager Mark Hanson added two additional items to the agenda for discussion: 1) <br />review of a proposed market analysis/compensation study for all staff; and 2) review of <br />possible changes to the annual wage and benefits evaluation process. <br /> <br />This report is intended to recap the discussions associated with the full agenda of the October 2 <br />WBC meeting. A separate report will be presented for approval in agenda item 5.4, Wage & <br />Benefits Committee Proposed 2024 Adjustments. The approval request is provided separately <br />for clarity and so commission members could hear the full WBC update before voting on the <br />proposed adjustments. <br /> <br />Staff Requests: <br />ERMU’s HR Generalist Megan Zachman gathered data from the electric utilities that make up <br />the metro average for lineworker pay. The metro average encompasses the seven utilities of <br />Anoka, Chaska, Great River Energy, North St. Paul, Shakopee, Wright Hennepin Electric, and <br />Connexus. These utilities are most comparable to, and competitive with, ERMU for lineworker <br />pay and accountability. Ms. Zachman also presented data collected in response to additional <br />requests of committee members (attached). <br /> <br />For the first request on wage increases, the metro average is currently estimated at 3.15% with <br />five of seven utilities reporting their proposed 2024 wage increases. The committee discussed <br />the merits of a specific dollar amount versus a percentage above the metro average. Rather <br />______________________________________________________________________________ <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />68 <br />