County labor pact set for OK

Monday, March 31, 2003 | 9:22 a.m.

Clark County is one step away from a new four-year contract with its 10,000 employees, County Manager Thom Reilly said Sunday.

Clark County, University Medical Center, the Regional Transportation Commission and other agency employees approved a tentative contract proposal Friday, which the County Commission will potentially approve on Wednesday, Reilly said.

The contract would give most employees a 2.75 percent cost-of-living raise for the first two years, then 3 percent raises for the second two years. Doctors working for UMC would not get a cost-of-living raise under the terms, Reilly said. The issue of doctors' raises will be discussed as part of the county's larger examination of the public hospital system.

"That contract's not settled," he said.

The contract also would remove automatic merit pay increases for UMC administrators, to be replaced with potential bonuses tied to the financial recovery of the cash-strapped hospital system. Performance bonuses also would replace merit increases for rank-and-file staff, Reilly said.

"It was tough negotiating this. The financial situation made it difficult."

The cost-of-living raises were the main issue.