November 21, 2022
Approximately 100,000 government employees of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will receive bonus checks next week, thanks in large part to the efforts of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and local affiliate Servidores Publicos Unidos (SPU), represented by a team of Stroock attorneys, in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bankruptcy proceedings.
In June 2019, AFSCME/SPU was one of the first stakeholders, and the only union, to reach an agreement with the Financial Oversight and Management Board representing the Commonwealth, in support of the Commonwealth’s debt restructuring plan. The agreement provides, among other things, for “upside” bonus payments to AFSCME represented employees and other Commonwealth employees for each of five years, commencing this year, when the Commonwealth’s annual revenue collections estimates are surpassed.
On December 1 of this year, approximately 9,500 employees represented by AFSCME/SPU will receive an upside bonus payment of $11,360 and more than 90,000 other government employees will receive an upside bonus payment of close to $3,000. The employees represented by AFSCME/SPU are receiving larger bonus payments as a result of AFSCME/SPU’s critical support of the Commonwealth plan.
The upside bonus is an important achievement on behalf of public workers and reflects a creative construct which gives public employees who have been impacted by budget cuts in the past the ability to share in the government’s recovery from financial distress.
November 21, 2022
Approximately 100,000 government employees of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will receive bonus checks next week, thanks in large part to the efforts of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and local affiliate Servidores Publicos Unidos (SPU), represented by a team of Stroock attorneys, in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bankruptcy proceedings.
In June 2019, AFSCME/SPU was one of the first stakeholders, and the only union, to reach an agreement with the Financial Oversight and Management Board representing the Commonwealth, in support of the Commonwealth’s debt restructuring plan. The agreement provides, among other things, for “upside” bonus payments to AFSCME represented employees and other Commonwealth employees for each of five years, commencing this year, when the Commonwealth’s annual revenue collections estimates are surpassed.
On December 1 of this year, approximately 9,500 employees represented by AFSCME/SPU will receive an upside bonus payment of $11,360 and more than 90,000 other government employees will receive an upside bonus payment of close to $3,000. The employees represented by AFSCME/SPU are receiving larger bonus payments as a result of AFSCME/SPU’s critical support of the Commonwealth plan.
The upside bonus is an important achievement on behalf of public workers and reflects a creative construct which gives public employees who have been impacted by budget cuts in the past the ability to share in the government’s recovery from financial distress.