Jailers approve county union pay contract

Whitman County commissioners Tuesday approved a collective bargaining contract for 2010 with the county’s jail workers’ union.

“I think it’s a fair deal,” said Commissioner Greg Partch. “I’m glad we were able to settle with them.

The contract is retroactive to the start of the year.

Major benefit to the jailers came in an extra “step” tacked on to their classification system.

The county has a classification system in which employees receive “step” raises based on how long they have worked for the county.

While courthouse employees have 16 steps in their system, jailers had only five. The new contract gives them a sixth classification.

Those jailers who had maxed out at the fifth classification were given one more step.

Under the contract, the county’s contribution to the medical insurance of jailers stayed static at $715 per month.

Jailers are insured through the Teamsters composite insurance plan, the only union in the county to carry Teamsters insurance.

The county’s correction’s officers are represented by the Teamsters Local Union 690 out of Spokane.

The Teamsters union also represents workers in the road and solid waste departments, as well as those in the courthouse.

The other three bargaining units rejected the county’s contract offers late last month.

Now the union and the county must return to the negotiating table to hammer out contracts for 2010.

“We made an offer, and there’s only so much we can do. I wish we could do more,” said Partch.

He added he wanted to make sure employees were paid in a way that would keep the county’s budget “sustainable.”

“I’d rather stay where we’re at and keep more people on the job instead of giving some raises and having to lay people off,” said Partch.