IRON MOUNTAIN — The Dickinson County Board approved collective bargaining contracts Monday that will provide 3% wage increases for unionized county employees effective through the end of the year, Controller Brian Bousley said.

Four-year collective bargaining agreements expired at the end of 2025 and the county was seeking new three-year pacts but settled instead on one-year contracts.

Employees had been working since Jan. 1 under the expired pacts. The wage increase is retroactive only to March 21, Bousley said.

In all, 85 employees are represented by the four bargaining units.

Three months ago, Bousley had raised the possibility there might be no new developments in contract talks until summer. With the one-year agreements in place, work will begin soon on trying to reach four-year contracts, he said.

The new contracts maintain the current health insurance, with employees continuing to pay 20% of premium costs.

Several years ago, wage adjustments were implemented for county workers after MGT Consulting Group of Bay City conducted comparative studies. As a result of MGT’s wage studies, many of the county’s unionized employees saw an increase in pay scale.

Apart from the MGT studies, the four bargaining units representing county workers at the end of 2021 agreed to contracts through Dec. 31, 2025, that provided 2% wage increases each year.

The county’s 2026 general fund budget totals $13.75 million, up 3.5% from 2025. Wages and benefits for current and retired county employees represent about 70% of the spending plan.

The county board’s approval was unanimous with no discussion. The full board had met in a closed session a month ago to discuss collective bargaining.

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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.