Employees push for pay raise
EL CENTRO — Members of Teamsters Local 542 gathered in front of the county Administration Building on Tuesday in the hopes of rallying public support for their ongoing contract negotiations with the county,
The rally also served to express union members’ frustration with contract negotiations that have gone on for more than a year without much constructive progress, said Ruth Duarte, Teamsters Local 542 bargaining unit member.
Yet, Duarte told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that she remained hopeful a contract negotiation meeting scheduled for today might help put an end to the stalled talks.
“We will need some information on the counter,” Duarte told the board prior to it going into closed session as part of its regular meeting.
Since negotiations had gotten underway more than a year ago, parties have met intermittently, including once when the county reportedly rejected the union’s four-year contract proposal and again to demand concessions from union members, Duarte said.
The union had initially proposed a gradual 30 percent salary increase over a four-year period, as well as greater employer contributions to medical insurance premiums.
Another sticking point with the county are union demands for changes to its grievance procedures as well as overtime rules that substitute comp time for added compensation, Duarte said.
Currently, parties are trying to negotiate a two-year contract.
The county’s negotiations with the Teamsters, as well as with the all of its bargaining units, comes at a time when departments are being asked to cut expenditures by 15 percent, and the county has increasingly relied on its reserves to cover increased expenditures.
All of the county employees’ bargaining units, which number more than a dozen, had memorandums of understanding through June 30, 2017, and are currently in negotiations for successor MOUs.
So far, parties have tentatively agreed on having the county increase its life insurance payout to employees from $50,000 to $75,000, as well as increased tuition reimbursement amounts for employees.
The union’s calls for increased salaries reflect the fact that the cost of living has increased 51 percent in the past 10 years, while union members’ wages have risen only 12 percent during that time, Duarte said.
Teamsters Local 542 represents more than 1,000 county workers employed as clerks, technicians and skilled labor and trades. The starting wage for some is $11.07, just 7 cents above the minimum wage, Duarte said.
The last raise county employees had received was a 2.5 percent salary increase in 2016.
“If they’re not helping their employees, they’re not helping the community,” Duarte said.