CONTACT: Karina Diaz, Hudson County Executive’s Office
PHONE: 201-369-4386
JERSEY CITY, NJ — Today, Hudson County Executive Craig Guy released the following statement on today’s walkout by AFSCME Local 2306 employees:
“As a former labor union member and during my time as County Executive, I have always fully supported the rights of Organized Labor to collectively bargain for a fair wage. With this in mind, I would like to share some details and background regarding Hudson County’s interactions with AFSCME Local 2306 over the past year.
“There are two separate issues in dispute here: retention bonus payments and contract negotiations due to a contract that expired on June 30th, 2024.
“Regarding retention bonuses, on March 21, 2020, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy announced via Executive Order No. 107, a stay-at-home order beginning on March 21, 2020 and ending on June 29, 2020. During the stay-at-home period, some workers who are members of AFSCME Local 2306, AFSCME Local 1697, and District 1199J, physically reported to work. Subsequently, for years the County entered into protracted discussions regarding retention bonuses for those eligible workers who physically reported to the office, but unfortunately, the County and unions were unable to come to a decision. Nonetheless, I still thought it was important to show appreciation for those who came to work during the early stages of the COVID pandemic to help the residents of Hudson County through a very turbulent time, so the County returned to discussions. On March 7, 2025, the County paid eligible Local 2306 workers a retention bonus.
“During retention bonus discussions, a typographical error was made in the agreement documents noting that the State’s stay-at-home order began on March 1, 2020. This was clearly an unintended mistake, as Governor Murphy’s Executive Order was effective on March 21, 2020. District 1199J addressed the error and amended the agreement in good faith. AFSCME Local 2306, on the other hand, is proclaiming that the retention bonus period began on March 1, 2020 and not March 21, 2020 – 20 days before Governor Murphy issued his stay-at-home order. To be clear, Hudson County was open for business March 1 – March 20; all County employees reported to work during that time period. AFSCME Local 2306 has insisted that any retention bonus be calculated using the erroneous March 1st, 2020 date. Paying retention bonuses to employees based on this time period is unacceptable and would put an undo fiscal burden on Hudson County taxpayers.
“Regarding the expired contract, Hudson County has been diligent in our efforts to negotiate a new contract. Unfortunately we have encountered many delays in the process solely caused by the union. In 2024, Hudson County attempted to enter into negotiations on three separate occasions, only to have the meetings postponed by union leadership. Hudson County continues to be willing to negotiate with AFSCME Local 2306 and we are eager to move forward in working with the Union leadership.
“Hudson County is proud of the work our union employees do every day on behalf of our residents, and they deserve a fair wage for their efforts. We will continue negotiating in good faith and I hope we can reach an outcome beneficial to all as quickly as possible.”