Mutuel Clerks Agree to Ratify New Contract : Horse racing: Two weeks of labor strife end as a compromise is reached. Regular clerks will be back to work Wednesday at area tracks and satellite facilities.

By a vote of 488-185, members of the union representing pari-mutuel clerks agreed to a compromise contract with California racing associations Monday, putting an end to nearly twoweeks of labor-management strife.

Veteran clerks will return to their posts at Hollywood Park, Los Alamitos, Golden Gate and the many satellite betting sites Wednesday, taking over for non-union replacements who steppedin when the previous contract expired at midnight, April 29.

“There were still a lot of take-aways in the contract,” said Jim Correll, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, Local 280. “So there were many members still not all that happy with it.”

The union’s executive committee split 6-4 in favor of ratification.

Among the distasteful pills swallowed by the union was an amnesty clause for the three dozen or so clerks who broke ranks and went to work April 29 after signing an employment agreement drawn up by management.

“Believe me, that was a real sticking point,” Correll said. “But according to the contract, we can neither fine them nor discipline them.”

The union also agreed not to pursue legal action threatened last week that challenged notonly the non-union employment agreements used by the racetracks, but also the operationof satellite betting outlets without a labor contract.

No suits had actually been filed.

Racetracks originally had proposed a two-year wage freeze and an increase for full vesting in health and welfare programs from 180 to 220 days of employment.

The compromise freezes the top daily wage at $113 for the first year of the contract, thenallows it to increase to $115 the second year and to $118 the third year.

The union had asked for a 3% raise each year.

The tracks agreed to keep the vesting requirement at 180 days through the first year, after which it will go to 195 days for the second and third years of the pact.

In addition, clerks retain their Sunday daytime premium pay rate, but they lose their Sunday night premium.

The contract with the clerks runs for 39 months, putting the next potential labor problem on the doorstep of the 1995 Del Mar meeting.