Arbitrator Agrees With County, Says Jailers Don’t Get Larger Raise

An arbitrator sided with Spokane County in its pay dispute with jailers, county officials say.

Portland arbitrator Thomas Levak issued an initial ruling in the dispute recently.

It supports the county’s position that jailers don’t deserve a raise larger than the one the county is offering, said Gary Carlsen, the county’s labor relations manager.

Carlsen refused to disclose specific details about the decision because the county and the jailers union are still reviewing it. Efforts to reach Levak for comment were unsuccessful.

County Commission Chairman Skip Chilberg said the decision reflects “basically 100 percent of the county’s position. That’s good news.”

The county had offered the jailers a 3 percent pay increase for 1994 and cost-of-living increases for 1995 and 1996.

The Washington State County & City Employees Council No. 2, Local 492, represents the jailers.

The union had asked for a pay raise of 4.5 percent for 1994 and 1995. It also wanted higher entry-level pay.

A corrections officer with more than 10 years of service with Spokane County earns $33,049 per year.

The 120 corrections employees have worked without a contract for more than a year, and negotiations between the county and the workers broke off last July.

Spokane County jail workers claim their pay is 15 percent lower than that of workers in comparable counties such as Clark County, Wash., and Clackamas County, Ore., and that it takes them longer to reach top pay levels.

Levak was hired in January to resolve the dispute. It was the first time a local government in Washington state sought binding arbitration over jailers’ salaries.

The jailers’ local union representative, Bill Keenan, was reluctant to talk about the findings, saying he had not seen the decision.

Keenan was upset county officials already were discussing the matter when it is not final.

Each party will have a chance to tell Levak what they think of the decision and suggest changes before it becomes binding.

A final decision is expected in a couple weeks.

“I’ve heard the same rumor from the county. If they’re right, we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it,” Keenan said. “But it may change.”

Carlsen doesn’t think it will, though.

The arbitrator doesn’t have to consider any new information or suggestions from either party, Carlsen said. His word is final, he added.

“That’s why we hired Levak, to break all ties,” Carlsen said.