MANCHESTER — One of the public employee unions that balked at making labor contract concessions last spring now wants the same deal other unions got, but the city’s aldermen have taken the proposed deal off the table.

In June, the union representing workers at the Manchester Water Works turned down an agreement similar to deals taken by other unions, but recently they signaled an interest in getting the same package.

“We’re trying to negotiate something similar to other city unions,” said Mike Roche, president of United Steelworkers Local 8938. “We did have a package that was presented to the membership.”

But for Mayor Ted Gatsas, it’s too late when it comes to the deals the city reached with other unions.

Contract concession talks opened last winter, after it became apparent that a voter-approved property tax cap would mean city revenues would not keep pace with the increasing cost of municipal services.

Gatsas said that because months have passed since the proposal was first offered, the potential savings to the city are lower.

“They need to give me some sort of presentation that will change the minds of the aldermen who are not prepared to agree to the same deal that the other unions did in July,” Gatsas said. “They were offered the same that every other union in the city took.”

With the exception of the water employees, police department support staff and the unions representing school district teachers and principals, all of Manchester’s public worker unions agreed to the contract changes, in part for an unwritten agreement that it would save jobs.

Rejection of the contract concessions by the unions representing school teachers and principals has been controversial in light of teacher layoffs as the new fiscal year began on June 1. The Manchester Education Association, representing the teachers, rejected a proposal that Gatsas claimed would save $4.5 million and scores of teaching jobs.

The unions that took the deal got a two-year contract extension with one percent wage increases in each year and an additional week of vacation after 20 years of service in return for accepting reductions in health benefits. There were also some changes based on working conditions in individual departments.

Concessions on health care included higher premiums and higher co-payments.

The revised contracts did not include language prohibiting layoffs, but negotiators reached an understanding that savings from the revised agreements would save jobs.

Roche, the dean of city labor leaders with more than 30 years at the helm of the Steelworkers, said his union’s contract runs out next June and members are interested in working out a two-year extension.

No bargaining sessions are scheduled, and Gatsas said he will be willing to sit with the union any time, a position he has also taken with the teachers union.

Roche said he wants to be able to present something “very similar” to the proposals the city’s other unions accepted.

But Gatsas said for a contract to win approval of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, it’ll need to be different from the deal the water works employees rejected four months ago.

“Everybody needs to come to the table with new ideas and new hopes,” the mayor said.

wsmith@unionleader.com