Negotiations for a new labor agreement between union workers and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals in Southwest Berkeley will continue after a proposed contract was rejected last week.

Workers from International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6, which represents 414 of the company’s employees, rejected the contract Aug. 31 with a 264 to 90 vote, according to Sreejit Mohan, Bayer’s director of public policy and communications. The union and the company will resume negotiations at the end of the week, he said.

Among the contract’s provisions was a proposed wage increase by 3.3 percent by 2014, which would increase workers’ annual salary by between $1,797 and $2,164 per year, according to documents detailing the provisions of the proposed contract.

The contract also stipulated that workers’ health care contributions be raised from 18 percent to 20 percent over four years, a difference of about $136 per month.

In several fliers distributed last week by the workers explaining the details of the negotiations, union officials said that Bayer’s proposed changes to health care contributions were “disrespectful and unfair” and would cut into their wages unnecessarily.

Mohan said the wage increases are generous and would not be reduced greatly by the proposed health care changes.

“The fact that we have the only unionized biotech production force, the fact that wages are at or above California benchmarks and the fact that we have voluntarily been providing workers with bonuses over time makes us feel our offer is fair,” he said.

Mohan added that Bayer’s Berkeley branch — located at 800 Dwight Way — which manufactures the hemophilia drug kogenate, needs to stay internationally competitive and must make the best business decisions during negotiations.

The union’s fliers also addressed Bayer’s inability to determine health care premiums and said the percentage increases were unfair in light of Bayer’s ability to only control what workers pay.

In addition, eight of the 29 employees that Bayer fired last August who sought their jobs back — two of them were recalled, and the others claimed severance packages — are seeking the extension of their recall rights throughout the negotiation process. Originally, Bayer extended recall rights to these workers until Aug. 22, but retracted them after initial rounds of negotiation.

“Bayer’s contract offer does not include language that will secure our jobs,” the union said in a statement. “We need to know that our jobs will be here for the years to come.”

Union officials could not be reached for comment.

Mohan said that despite the back-and-forth nature of negotiations, he was confident that Bayer would work out a deal with the union.

“We’ve got a very competitive and generous offer, and if you look at the sum total of financial incentives, and we feel it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

Correction(s):
A previous version of this article stated that the workers’ annual salary would increase by between $1,797 and $2,164 by 2014. In fact, workers’ annual salary would increase by between $1,797 and $2,164 per year.

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