SEIU members ratify contract with county
About 150 Washington County employees who are members of what’s known as the “residual unit” of Service Employees International Union Local 668 ratified a three-year contract with the county this week.
The county commissioners expect to vote on the pact at their meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday.
Kathleen Bali, director of human resources for the county, said the contract, which runs through Dec. 31, 2019, calls for wage increases of 2 ½ percent in the first two years and a 3 percent raise in the final year.
Employee contributions to health insurance are pegged at 10 percent in the first year, 11 ½ percent in the second year and 12 percent in the final year.
Local 668 is a diverse group, representing everyone from maintenance workers to 911 emergency dispatchers and clerks. The contract expired Dec. 31 of last year. Other unions that already have reached agreements with the county have been social workers and support staff of the Children and Youth Services agency and court-related and court-appointed employees.
Rank-and-file employees of Washington County Health Center are members of SEIU Healthcare PA and also have been working under the terms of their old contract. Their representative has explained a severance package that is part of the eventual sale of the health center in Arden, but the workers will not be voting on a new pact.
Six firms have expressed an interest in purchasing the health center, but no purchase price has been discussed.