By Kyle Wind
The Times-Tribune
SCRANTON, Pa. — Lackawanna County correctional and probation officers will get double-digit raises and other perks, but also contribute substantially more to health insurance premiums in a pair of arbitration awards the board of commissioners approved Wednesday.
Three arbitrators awarded about 218 prison guards and other employees in the same union a contact hiking wages about 16 percent over five years. The union also gets additional “equity” raises — $550 for everyone in the union combined in 2015 and 2016, plus more for individuals that the trio of arbitrators felt needed salary adjustments.
At the same time, correctional officers and others covered by the five-year collective bargaining agreement will immediately see their health care premiums rise from $30 per month for individual coverage and $55 for family coverage to $40 for single coverage and $76 for family coverage. Between now and 2017, contributions will continue to increase to $60 for individual employees and $120 per month for family plans.
Union President William Shanley said it was a fair deal; County Commissioner Jim Wansacz spoke more generally about both decisions.
“We would always like a lesser amount (for raises), but it’s up to the arbitrator,” Mr. Wansacz said.
Chief Financial Officer Thomas Durkin had not completed an analysis of the fiscal impact of the correctional officer award nor the separate probation award, but said both arbitration awards fell within a buffer county officials left in the budget for the decisions.
Other features of the new prison contract include:
• Retroactive raises of 3 percent each for 2013 and 2014, then 3 percent raises for 2015 and 2016 followed by 2 percent twice during each half of 2017. The deal moves the salary for a rank-and-file correctional officer from a range of $36,029 to $50,611 to somewhere between $39,085 and $54,710 by 2017.
• Night shift differentials that gradually increase from an extra 45 cents per hour for 3 to 11 p.m. shifts and 55 cents per hour for 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shifts to 60 cents per hour for 3 to 11 p.m. shifts and 70 cents per hour for 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shifts.
• Extending annual longevity bonuses to community corrections officers, juvenile detention officers and counselors. The contract sets the bonuses at $350 for employees with five to 10 years of service, and $600 for 10-plus years.
• Halving the probationary period to 180 days, reducing sick leave from 20 to 16 days for new hires, and allowing the county to hire up to five retirees to cover for sick or injured correctional officers.
• Setting specific discipline guidelines, except for egregious behavior like theft, dishonesty, major security breaches, insubordination and criminal conviction.
Meanwhile, a second arbitration panel awarded a four-year contract for about 64 probation workers that includes 2.5 percent wage increases for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 totaling about 10 percent — plus another set of “equity adjustments.”
Adult and juvenile probation employees will also see their health insurance premiums gradually increase from $25 per month for individual coverage and $50 for family coverage to $60 for individual coverage and $120 for other coverage.
Other changes include increased on-call stipends, improved bereavement leave and allowing employees to carry over up to 20 days of unused vacation time.
Lackawanna County still has unresolved contracts with unions representing public defenders, clerical employees, deputy sheriffs and children and youth workers, said Brian Loughney, the county’s deputy director of human resources.