SOUTH JERSEY

DRPA to approve pay raises

Carol Comegno
@CarolComegno

CAMDEN - The Delaware River Port Authority approved pay raises Wednesday night for employees of three labor unions and boosted the CEO's compensation.

John Hanson did not receive CEO pay when he was promoted from chief financial officer to CEO in January 2014. Rather than calling it a raise, the DRPA finance committee recently recommended  an "adjustment" in compensation for Hanson to elevate his current salary by nearly $40,000 to $219,474 from $180,081.

RELATED: DRPA head to get pay hike

Board action came Wednesday night when the DRPA met at the African-American Museum, 701 Arch St. in Philadelphia.

The authority had postponed action on Hanson's salary in January because the matter had bypassed the authority's committee review process.

The long-awaited raises for three labor unions average 1.9 percent a year.

John Hanson, chief executive officer of the Delaware River Port Authority, could see a pay raise to $225,000.

The board approved the salary portion of pending contracts for Local 542 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), Local 351 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Teamsters Local 676, which is also affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters/AFL-CIO.

The DRPA staff was authorized to negotiate the remaining non-economic terms of the respective collective bargaining agreements.

"We are in  a positive financial condition and these are reasonable negotiated salary increases that fall in line with other authorities around the state. They are also well deserved by a very good workforce,” authority vice chairman Jeffrey Nash said in an interview.

“They come on the heels of freezing bridge fares and reinstating discounts for frequent bridge commuters.”

Board action is subject to approval by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has veto power over all board actions.

IUOE, currently representing 194 DRPA and PATCO Hi-Speedline public safety dispatchers, bridge construction and maintenance, toll employees and revenue operations clerks, will receive yearly raises of 1.9 percent for 2015, 2016 and 2017. That union has been working without a contract since Jan. 1, 2013. It will receive no raises for 2013 and 2014, however.

The Teamsters, which represents 211 employees who operate and maintain the PATCO transit system between Lindenwold in Camden County and Center City Philadelphia, will receive 1.9 percent pay increases for each of the five years from 2013 through 2017, but no raises for 2011 and 2012. Its contract expired on May 31, 2011.

IBEW, currently representing 21 DRPA and PATCO information service personnel, will receive the same yearly percentage raise as the other unions from 2014 to 2017. The union has been working under an expired contract since December 31, 2011.

DRPA also is agreeing to pay up to 6.5 percent of the cost increases in health and welfare benefits for 2015 and 2016 for the IUOE and Teamsters.

Delaware River Port Authority general counsel Raymond Santarelli (right) administers the oath of office to Joseph S. Martz as a new member of the bistate board's Pennsylvania delegation at a meeting Wednesday at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.

In other business, Joseph S. Martz became a new member of the bistate board's Pennsylvania delegation. DRPA general counsel Raymond Santarelli administered the oath to Martz, board chairman and CEO of NHS Human Services, Inc, a $500 million non-profit organization. He was formerly a Philadelphia city manager and also secretary of administration under former Pennsylvania governor and Democrat Ed Rendell.

The authority also appointed Michael Devlin of Audubon as a member of the DRPA Citizen Advisory Committee.

Carol Comegno (856) 486-2473; or ccomegno@gannetnj.com