Mahoning OKs pact with sewer workers

Employees will continue contributing to their
health-care premiums.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County’s new contract with sanitary engineering department workers calls for random alcohol and drug testing.

The county commissioners approved the three-year pact with the Mahoning County Sanitary Engineering Employees’ Union on Thursday.

It is retroactive to April 1, 2007, and calls for a 2 percent raise in the employees’ base pay as of that date, plus 3 percent annual pay increases.

The agreement covers 77 employees who maintain the county’s network of sewers and maintain and operate the department’s sewage treatment plants.

They earn between $13.50 to $14 an hour for an entry-level laborer up to about $23 an hour for the highest-paid foreman.

New in this contract is a provision for random alcohol and drug testing for all employees, not just those with commercial driver’s licenses, said Sanitary Engineer Joseph Warino. “We don’t want to put our people out on the road if they’re going to be in an impaired situation,” he explained.

The new agreement also lifts caps that previously had been placed on employee contributions toward their health-care premiums. Under the previous contract, employees contributed 10 percent up to a monthly cap of $27.30 for the single plan and $61.98 for the family plan.

Under the new agreement, which the workers ratified last month, employees will pay 10 percent of whatever the health-care premium is. Current total monthly premiums are $576 for the single plan and $1,227 for the family plan.

“It’s good deal for the membership. We understand in this day and age that health care is a big issue. We had to give a little bit on health care and a little bit of pension pickup, but the contract gives us good raises,” said John Michaels, union president.

The new agreement freezes the department’s contribution to the workers’ Public Employee Retirement System at 9.5 percent of their pay. The state now requires 10 percent, so the employees will pay 0.5 percent of their salaries to PERS.

The commissioners also bought for the sanitary engineering department a new $176,250 sewer camera inspection truck from Jack Doheny Inc. of Twinsburg, and the department will take delivery of it in late winter or spring of this year.

Until now, the department has rented a camera truck for $38,000 to $40,000 a year. In the long run, it’s cheaper to own than to rent such a vehicle, Warino added.

milliken@vindy.com