Bradford County approves contract with corrections officers

TOWANDA - A new three-year labor contract is now place for Bradford County's 40 corrections officers, which gives full-time corrections officers raises of 4 or 3 percent during each year of the contract.

"I think it's a good agreement," Bradford County Commissioner Mark Smith said at the most recent meeting of the commissioners, where the commissioners approved the contract.

The county and Teamsters Union Local 529, which represents the corrections officers, didn't want to see the new contract go to arbitration, which had occurred under the previous three-year contract, Smith said.

"This is the first time in a long time that the county has been able to work it out with the union through negotiation instead of dragging it out for years with arbitration," Smith said. "So we are pretty happy."

With arbitration, it "costs more money (for the county) and takes longer," he said.

The new contract, which runs from Jan. 1, 2010, through Dec. 31, 2012, was ratified by the union members on Feb. 17, according to the Bradford County commissioners. All of the corrections officers under the contract work at the Bradford County Correctional Facility in West Burlington Township.

Under the new contract, the county's 26 full-time corrections officers will receive a 4 percent pay raise effective Jan. 1, 2010; a 3 percent pay raise on Jan. 1, 2011; and a 3 percent pay raise on Jan. 1, 2012, according to Smith and Bradford County Fiscal Director Joan Sanderson.

The county's 14 part-time corrections officers, who until now have been earning $10.25 per hour, will see their hourly pay increased to $10.50 effective Jan. 1, 2010, Sanderson said. The part-timers' pay will increase to $10.75 on Jan. 1, 2011 and to $11.00 on Jan. 1, 2012, according to the fact sheet on the contract that was distributed by the commissioners.

The full- and part-time corrections officers will not receive any additional cost-of-living increases or other wage increases of any kind during the life of the contract, according to the fact sheet.

The pay increases will cost the county approximately $30,000 during the first year of the contract, Sanderson said.

Eleven of the county's 26 full-time corrections officers have been receiving the starting pay for corrections officers, which has been $10.68 per hour, and their hourly pay will be $11.11 during the first year of the contract, $11.44 during the second year of the contract, and $11.78 during the third year of the contract, Sanderson said.

There are a couple of employees at the top of the pay scale for full-time corrections officers, who have been earning $14.72 per hour, and those employees will be paid $15.31 during the first year of the contract, $15.77 during the second year of the contract, and $16.24 during the third year of the contract, Sanderson said.

The corrections officers receive their health insurance through the Teamsters Union, Smith said.

"Any health care plan I know of ... has increases," said John Farwell, president of Teamsters Local 529. "The thing with ours is that we have rates that we can offer to the county three years down the road."

He said the county has accepted those rates.

James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or e-mail: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com.