County Workers Appeal for Equal Treatment

Supervisors Abandon Principle of Pay Parity.

In 2002, the Board of Supervisors made an agreement with the 1800 county workers of SEIU and, by extension, with the citizens of our county. The agreement was that the county would fairly compensate us by pegging pay to that of county workers in 8 neighboring counties, to ensure a quality workforce and quality services. This fair, neutral standard removed a main source of potential conflict in labor relations. And this movement toward pay parity improved the recruitment and retention of county workers, many of whom had been forced to leave our community for higher paying jobs or a lower cost of living elsewhere, taking their families and children, their skills, work relationships, and knowledge with them.

Last week county managers broke that agreement with us and with our community, returning us to an era of conflict.

For us, the pain began last summer, when county workers took a 4% pay cut. Next we were forced to pay higher healthcare costs. Now management’s “best, last, and final” contract offer would keep us dead last in employer contributions to healthcare and retirement when compared to the 8 neighboring counties, while county Supervisors and executives remain well above the average. All of these counties received cost of living adjustments (COLA) at least six months ago of between 2%-4%. The offer from management is for an effective 1.25% increase in pay this contract year, not even reaching half of the current 3.2% annual inflation rate. And by delaying our increases for 6 months in future years, the Board is demanding that county workers remain forever below wage parity.

As one of the largest employers in the area, the County sets employment standards. We believe we are fighting for the right of all working families in the county to live here in dignity. The cost of living in Santa Cruz is rising for all of us. Can you afford to live on less pay than you made last year? How can County executives and the Board of Supervisors justify asking that of ordinary workers—especially while their own pay remains above parity?

A Financial Shell Game

County Executives claim there is no money to meet our modest proposal of a 2.5% COLA in the first year and 3% in the second year. Yet their own County Annual Financial Report shows we have a $25 million general fund balance. This is the second largest fund balance in the last 10 years. Also, experts agree that recent economic trends will produce even stronger state and county finances in this and the coming year.

A long-term look at annual audits shows that our county managers have a long record of over-budgeting and under-spending—a financial shell game that effectively hides funds from the public. These are funds that could both provide fairer compensation for employees and maintain quality services for our community.

This pattern of unequal treatment between workers and managers, this abandonment of hard-won agreements on fair compensation, and this financial shell-game have set us onto a course toward painful conflict. Please join us in asking county leaders to change course before it is too late. You can call county supervisors at 831-454-2200.


Kaleo Kaluhiwa is a psychotherapist and social worker in the County HIV/AIDS program and the elected vice-president of the 1800-person Santa Cruz County chapter of SEIU Local 415. He can be contacted at kaleo95060 [at] yahoo.com.