By: JOAN HELLYER, Bucks County Courier Times

The bargaining unit, part of the Transportation Workers Union, represents about 100 district employees.

The Bristol Township school board voted unanimously Monday night to ratify a four-year deal with district custodians, maintenance personnel and warehouse workers.

The contract includes salary increases of 1 percent the first year, 2.25 percent in the second year, 2.5 percent in 2011-2012 and 3 percent the final year of the deal, said Business Manager Gerald Barcik.

Also during the first year of the pact, full-time employees will get a $500 bonus and part-time employees will receive a $250 bonus, Barcik said.

The deal also calls for members of the Transportation Workers Union, Local 282, to increase their monthly contributions to their health care plans.

During the first year of the contract, full-time members of the TWU will pay $40 per month toward their health care premiums. That contribution goes up each year until it reaches $60 per month in
2012-2013, Barcik said.

In addition, the bargaining unit agreed to drop one of the health care options it had during previous agreements to help save the district some money, said Michael Walsh, president of Local 282.

The new pact is retroactive to July 1 when the district’s last contract with the TWU expired, Barcik said. It covers about 100 district employees.

Their salaries, as of July 1, range between $15.44 per hour and $24.37 per hour, depending on their position, Barcik said.

The board and union representatives reached the agreement in August, but did not ratify it until both sides had time to review the written contract.

TWU believes it’s a fair deal given the limitations the district faces in the current economic climate, Walsh said.