EASTON, Pa. — Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees working at the Northampton County-run Gracedale nursing home will get raises.
County council approved a new agreement with the union Thursday.
Council members unanimously approved the deal covering AFSCME’s Gracedale bargaining unit, which includes a broad swath of the home’s employees, including housekeepers, kitchen workers, operations staff and many of its nurses.
The union’s members at Gracedale will get a 4% cost-of-living increase for this year, to take effect retroactively starting from Jan. 1 of this year. Starting Jan, 1, 2026, wages will increase 3.5% more for AFSCME members working at the home. A 3% cost-of-living increase will follow in 2027.New contract with Northampton County
The union’s members at Gracedale will get a 4% cost-of-living increase for this year, to take effect retroactively starting from Jan. 1 of this year.
Starting Jan, 1, 2026, wages will increase 3.5% more for AFSCME members working at the home. A 3% cost-of-living increase will follow in 2027.
The terms negotiated between the union and county administration also prevent the county from subcontracting nutrition, housekeeping or laundry work to outside companies through the end of 2027.
Ahead of Thursday’s vote, County Executive Lamont McClure said council also should keep in mind a 2024 deal with AFSCME that adjusted pay scales for many of the union’s Gracedale members.
Raising pay at Gracedale will help hire new staff and keep current employees there, McClure said, and in turn reduce the home’s reliance on high-cost nurses provided by a staffing agency to fill in the gaps.
As a result, the agreements with AFSCME “will, in the short term, bring the costs of running Gracedale down even though pay of the employees of Gracedale is on the rise,” McClure said.
