LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Following concerns last month that a transit worker strike could occur locally, contract negotiations between the company that operates Lake County's transit services and its union-represented employees came to a successful conclusion this week.

Paratransit Services of Bremerton, Wash., which holds the contract for Lake Transit Authority, and Teamsters Local 624, based in Santa Rosa, reached a tentative agreement for a three-year contract for 35 transit employees on Sept. 1, as Lake County News has reported.

This past Sunday in Lower Lake, that tentative agreement went before a vote of a committee representing the workers, said Ralph Miranda, a union spokesman and negotiator on the contract.

“The offer was unanimously accepted and recommended by the committee,” he said.

Randy Grove, Paratransit Services' director of operations and human resources, confirmed the settlement.

“We are pleased that an agreement could be reached,” Grove said.

Miranda said the contract terms include a 1.5-percent wage increase retroactive to July 1, up from the 1 percent wage increase Paratransit Services had previous proposed.

He said they also will continue with the current health plan offered by Paratransit Services, with an agreement that the company and employees would split the costs of any increases the insurance company implements.

The two sides agreed to reopen negotiations on medical benefits and wages on June 30 of the next two years, he said.

In turn, the union agreed in the contract to Paratransit Services' request to freeze longevity increases, which Miranda previously said include step increases between five and 10 years of service.

“We agreed to freeze the step increases, which was one of the big item that was delaying it,” he said.

Miranda said federal mediator David Weinberg, who has worked with the two sides over the last several weeks, was very helpful in getting a resolution.

“The atmosphere at the bargaining table, I've got to say, really turned cooperative,” said Miranda, noting that everyone wanted to get an agreement.

Though the union had set deadlines for strikes last month, Miranda said they hadn't wanted to interrupt services for the thousands of local residents who depend on local transit.

Paratransit Services officials also had emphasized that they didn't want to see service interruptions.

“Paratransit Services values its employees,” said Grove. “In turn, the employees value their commitment and responsibility to provide safe and efficient transportation services to the residents of Lake County.”

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .