PENDLETON – Members of the union representing Umatilla County Sheriff’s employees will receive 4 percent wage increases effective July 1, and 3 percent increases the next two years as part of a new collective bargaining agreement.

The agreement was ratified by 98 percent of union members, according to a press release.

In addition to the raises, the agreement also states that certification pay for officers holding Advanced Training Certification will increase from 3 percent to 5 percent. Also, an additional 1 percent longevity pay increase was added to employees who have worked for four years, raising it from 3 percent to 4 percent.

Negotiations for the new agreement began in February. The previous three-year agreement expired June 30. The tentative agreement was reached in early July with the assistance of a mediator from the Oregon State Conciliation Service, but that agreement was subject to the just-completed ratification of the 86 members of the Service Employees International Union Local 503.

“I think that both the employees and the management appreciate that in these difficult times they received these types of increases,” said Jim Barrow, director of Human Resources for Umatilla County. “Management felt it was a fair agreement.”

The union covers many Umatilla County Sheriff’s employees, including deputies, correctional officers, dispatchers, community corrections personnel and administrative and clerical personnel.

According to the press release, the contract also includes increases in health-insurance coverage, rules covering overtime and other “minor language changes” from the previous agreement.

Health-insurance premiums paid for by the county will increase by an additional $50 per month, and another $50 each August of the contract.

Employees who work more than 180 hours of compensatory overtime in any given month will now have the excess hours paid out in salary rather than carried as “comp time.”