Several employees with Koochiching County have new contracts.

New three-year deals have been signed between the County and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the union representing employees in Public Health and Human Services, Highway and Environmental Services, and the courthouse.

All includes wage increases of 3.5% this year and 3% in 2026 and 2027.

Country Administrator Adam Coe says some former non-unionized employees have now been added to the contract for Public Health and Human Services workers.

“There were a couple of positions in public health that were not a part of the union, and they asked to join the union,” says Coe.

“There’s an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) that will bring public health nurses and the public health educators into the AFSCME union.”

Within the contract for Highway and Environmental Services, Coe says workers will begin contributing to a pension.

“They voted to contribute a dollar per hour of their wages the first year, this year, $1.50 in ’26 and $2.00 in ’27. That will be contributed on all hours paid up to 40 hours per week.”

For courthouse workers, those who are promoted to new positions will receive a 2% pay increase.

They were previously given a 20-cent increase.

All of the contracts are retroactive to January 1st, 2025.