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After entering into voluntary mediation Oct. 31, Santa Clara County and its union workers have ended discussions without resolving ongoing monthslong negotiations for new contracts.
“Jeff Smith, under the direction of the Board of Supervisors, has for months ridiculed and undermined efforts of frontline workers to reach an equitable agreement that puts forth long-term solutions to the staffing crisis impacting our residents’ ability to obtain critical services,” Janet Diaz, chapter president of Service Employees International Union Local 521, said in a statement Thursday.
The union for months has been negotiating with the county for new contracts to include higher wages and promises to fill open positions in understaffed offices and departments throughout the county.
Following the county’s last offer to the union on Oct. 15, workers authorized strikes throughout the county’s many government buildings and medical offices.
“The Board’s stance is not about sustainability – it’s about a total lack of respect for the county’s lowest paid workers and for the residents who don’t get the level of service they need because of the high number of vacancies that result from inadequate pay for the jobs we do,” Diaz said.
The union said it will refrain from strikes and continue labor negotiations into the new year.
“We remain willing to continue negotiations to reach a fair agreement on the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. We also will continue to insist that the many outstanding unfair labor practices which the County has committed be remedied,” Diaz said. “We will voluntarily commit to refrain from calling a strike until further notice and such notice will not be given prior to Friday January 10.”
>> The union for months has been negotiating with the county for new contracts to include higher wages and promises to fill open positions in understaffed offices and departments throughout the county.
I’ve been a union member at times in the past, other times not. There is one thing about unions, in general, that I never understood, even when I was a member. And, that is the way unions always talk about everything as if there is some source of unlimited funding that the stingy employer, in this case SCC BofS, is refusing to use.
I think SEIU would have a -lot- more credibility with the general public, including other union members, is if they could logically discuss how the budget is being allocated, and, how that allocation could be better, AND, at the same time, benefit employees (who happen to be SEIU members).
The income part of the budget is very nearly fixed. What shouldn’t we be spending on, so that we can afford raises for employees? Talk about it. Talk about changing budget priorities. Show us, the general public, your spreadsheet for how things should look instead of what they are now. SEIU seems to be demanding both pay raises and more staffing overall. I’m sure the Supes would love to do that, but, chances are, -Excel- won’t let you do it.