Correctional officer pay raise, health cap in Merced County deal

Merced County and the union representing its correctional officers have agreed to a contract that includes a pay raise and a cap on health benefits.

The agreement was approved by the Board of Supervisors last month after being ratified by members of Teamsters Local 856.

The new contract begins in July and runs through June 2018. About 70 correctional officers represented by the union, or Unit 2, will receive a 4 percent pay raise this year and a 3 percent increase in 2017.

Another notable item in the agreement is the cap on the maximum health plan contributions by the county. Under the agreement, the county will contribute 100 percent for the employee and 50 percent of contributions for family members also on the health plan.

The agreement also doubled the number of hours employees can choose to donate to the catastrophic leave bank from 16 to 32, which is exclusively available to and contributed to by Unit 2 members.

The county still is in negotiations with other labor groups, including the Merced County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Merced County Public Safety Services Unit, Merced County Public Employees Union and Merced County Attorney’s Association.

Negotiation proposals, county proposals and memorandums of understanding are available on the county’s website on the human resources page or at www.co.merced.ca.us/laborrelations.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 7:40 PM with the headline "Correctional officer pay raise, health cap in Merced County deal."