COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS ON THE
NEGOTIATIONS
WITH SEIU LOCAL 415
March 21,
2006
1.
What do the County and the Union agree on as of
today?
The County and the Union have reached agreement on 27 items in the current contract negotiations. The list of Tentative Agreements is available on the County website.
2.
On the remaining issues, what was the County’s last
offer, what was the last offer made by the Union, and how are they different?
There are currently three
outstanding issues.
a. Medical: On March 8, 2006, the County accepted the Union’s proposal on Health Care. That proposal is as follows:
|
Monthly payment by County |
Percentage of the Premiums covered by the County |
Monthly Payment by Employee |
Percentage of the Premiums covered by the Employee |
Employee |
$404.23 |
95% |
$21.28 |
5% |
Employee + 1 |
638.25 |
75% |
212.75 |
25% |
Employee + 2 or more |
829.73 |
75% |
276.58 |
25% |
The Union has not yet signed the Tentative Agreement on Health Care.
b. Equity Increases: The County and the Union have reached agreement on 15 equity adjustments. In addition, the Union has indicated that other equity adjustments should be undertaken. The County believes these outstanding issues can be resolved.
c. Cost Of Living Adjustments (COLA): The February Consumer Price Index for the S.F. Bay Area region, which includes Santa Cruz County, is currently 1.8%. The County proposal includes a 2.5% COLA now and an additional 2.5% in one year. The timing and the amount of the COLA are still outstanding.
1.
Why are negotiations taking so long?
The County and the Union began negotiations in July 2005. A tentative agreement by the Union and the County was reached in September. After the membership rejected the proposal, the County made repeated attempts to meet with the Union’s bargaining team but the Union was not available to meet until November. In December, the Union elected new officers and the Union was once again unavailable to meet with County negotiators until late January 2006. At the same time, the Union requested the State mediator be replaced which took additional time to accomplish. In March, the Union replaced their lead negotiator. Since then only two meetings have occurred.
The County’s Negotiation Team has been ready and available
at all times during the last ten months to negotiate.
2.
Why aren’t talks going on now?
The County provided the Union with
its last, best and final offer on March 8, 2006. The Union has not yet responded to the County with their written
last, best and final proposal or any counter proposal. The County is willing to meet at any time.
3.
How does Santa Cruz County’s proposal compare to
other Counties?
The County of Santa Cruz compares
itself to the Counties of Monterey, Santa Clara, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa,
San Mateo, Marin and Sonoma. A study
would be required to determine where the County of Santa Cruz ranks in relation
to these comparison Counties. However,
based on the County’s last proposal and a review of the Union’s main issues,
Santa Cruz County ranks approximately in the middle in Salary, Health Care and
Retirement. Four Counties are higher
and four are lower. Santa Cruz County
is not last in any of these categories.
It should also be noted that while
comparing Santa Cruz to other Counties is a useful guide, there has never been
agreement between the Union and the County to remain at the average of these
comparison Counties.
4.
Why is the Union saying County employees have taken a
4% pay cut?
In 1994, the Union requested a new
enhanced retirement program and agreed that the employees would pay for the
costs of the program and that the County’s contribution for retirement would be
capped at a certain dollar amount. The
County agreed and implemented this enhanced benefit in 1994. It wasn’t until July of 2005 that the
increased costs for retirement exceeded the cap by 4%. At that time, employees first began to
contribute to the cost of their negotiated enhanced benefit.
5.
Does the County have a surplus at the end of every
year?
No. The figures used
by the Union to say there is a surplus refers to the fund balances that remain
at the end of each Fiscal Year on June 30th. These funds include reserves and those funds
that are included in the budget for the next year and used to pay for
continuing expenses, including salaries and benefits. It is similar to the balance in your checking account at the end
of each month. The money that is left over at the end of the month is used for
expenditures in the next month.
6.
What are essential employees and why are the County
and the Union in disagreement about them?
During a strike or
other labor action there are some positions that are essential to health and
safety. These essential employees include Child Protective Service Workers,
those who provide supervision to residents in Juvenile Hall, hazardous material
emergency responders, cooks in the jail, and sewage treatment plant
operators.
On September 9,
2005, the County and the Union agreed to a list of essential employees who
would continue working even if there were a strike or other labor action. An order identifying the essential employees
was issued by the Court. In that order,
SEIU agreed that it would not encourage essential employees to join any
concerted work stoppage including strikes, work slow downs or sickouts. The
Court Order identifies about 200 of the 1,800 SEIU employees as essential.
7.
Is the essential employees Court Order valid?
Yes. Some have stated that due to the death of the Judge who signed
the order, the order is no longer effective. Court orders survive the death of a Judge and only a Court can
change an order.
8.
What about the pay of the Supervisors? Is it true that they are at the top of
comparison Counties? What about their pay increases?
As of March 7, 2006, the Santa
Cruz County Supervisors are 12% behind the comparison Counties. They have not received a Cost of Living
Adjustment since February 2004. The
Union looked at hourly wages for Supervisors in other Counties but not at the
total compensation for these positions.
9.
How much do the workers lose when a strike
occurs? Is this the same amount as the
savings to the County?
The workers in SEIU lose
approximately $365,000 per day of lost work.
However, this only represents a marginal savings to the County since the
County loses reimbursements from State and Federal sources due to the failure
to provide services to the public.
The average SEIU employee earns
$54,662 per year not including benefits.
A strike would cost the average employee $210 per day.