CENTER TWP — Center Township supervisors voted Wednesday to approve a three-year agreement with the United Mine Workers, pending approval of the United Mine Workers, who will vote on the agreement Friday.

The United Mine Workers represent six township road employees and one bookkeeper. The agreement calls for pay raises of 3.7 percent in 2017, 3.6 percent in 2018 and 2.3 percent in 2019.

This means that, should the United Mine Workers accept the terms, the base rate for Center Township road workers would be $20.96 in 2017, $21.71 in 2018 and $22.21 in 2019.

Should the agreement be approved, there will be no change in the health benefits package, meaning that it will continue to be in place without employee contribution.

Township supervisor Ed Latuska said, in a read statement, that this is “because of a previously negotiated contract provision which allows the township and the union members to aggressively shop the insurance market to mitigate increasing insurance costs.”

Both Latuska and union steward Mike Iscrupe called the agreement “mutual.” Iscrupe said he did not have any expectations one way or another about how the agreement would be received by the United Mine Workers.