Mercer County workers get 3 percent raise

MERCER, Pa. — Mercer County commissioners extended a 3 percent pay raise to some county employees and increased employee contributions to medical coverage.

About 55 courthouse employees represented by United Steelworkers Local 1355-4 will receive the wage increase based on the current scale in all three years of the contract. The contract is tentative but expected to be finalized soon, commissioners said at their Thursday meeting.

Commissioners also extended the 3 percent raise to courthouse nonunion employees for this year only.

The also gave a 3 percent increase for 2009 to professional and administrative employees. Commissioner Kenneth Amman voted against that resolution, however, stating after the meeting that he favored a 50-cent hourly increase which would have cost the county less and helped the P&A employees at the lower end of the pay scale.

He said some of the administrators at the lower end make less than the clerical workers they supervise. He said his suggestion would have cost $165,000 annually while the 3 percent P&A increase will cost $228,000.

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