Unionized engineer's workers have new three-year contract

WARREN -- Unionized employees of the Trumbull County Engineer's Office have settled on a new contract, nearly four months after the old one expired.
"We are very pleased we have been able to reach what we see as a fair and good contract for the county," said Rocky Riviella, administrator of the engineer's office.
The contract, which follows a framework laid out by a fact finder's report last month, will cost the county an additional $80,000 per year, Riviella said.
Employees will get a 4 percent wage increase each year of the three-year contract. The first year of the pact, wages range from $11.73 an hour for a janitor to $17.10 an hour for an electrician.
Cuts to the employee health-care plans were less severe than the fact finder recommended, Riviella said.
Employees' annual health insurance deductibles double under the new contract, up to $200 a year for single people and $400 a year for families. However, the maximum annual out-of-pocket expense for health care remains the same, with families paying no more than $1,000, and single people no more than $5,000.
Employees will also be paying more for prescription drugs, up to $10 to have a name-brand prescription filled.