The agreement on a successor contract covering 4,000+ county workers averts a strike pending approval by the Kern County Board of Supervisors
Kern County, Calif. – After nearly two years of negotiations, Kern County and the more than 4,000 essential public sector county workers represented by SEIU Local 521 reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) on Wednesday, November 17. The Tentative Agreement came on the brink of a countywide unfair labor practice strike authorized last month by county workers. Starting on November 22, 2021, county members of SEIU Local 521 took part in a ratification vote and announced on Tuesday, December 6 that the TA was approved by majority vote. The TA will now go before the Kern County Board of Supervisors for final approval and implementation at the December 14, 2021 meeting.
“We are extremely proud to have stood resilient throughout these negotiations,” said Tiffany Sagbohan, SEIU Local 521 Kern County Chapter Vice President. “As a result, we have an agreement that will improve retention by increasing compensation for every county worker represented by SEIU. While we are pleased that a majority of voting members voted to approve this contract, we would be remiss not to recognize the serious commitment made by our fellow Kern County members who rejected the TA. There still is serious work to be done to address ongoing challenges facing our workforce, but we strongly believe this is an important step towards meeting the critical recovery needs of our community and workers. These negotiations demonstrated the resolve of county workers’ fight for accountability and change. Building a real partnership between management and our workforce to ensure the County of Kern can be the best place to live, work, and raise our families is our priority following this ratification.”
The 3-year agreement ensures no county workers covered by the contract are left behind – including hundreds of workers who were slated to earn less as part of the County’s Last, Best, and Final offer that was overwhelmingly rejected in early November by union members. The TA includes cost-of-living wage increases, a re-opener, and establishes a new wage scale system to support workers who have not seen increases in more than a decade. The pact includes many other improvements and investments that will help reduce employee turnover and support retention through equity adjustments to make key classification whole to comparable counties and employers.
The TA language makes County jobs more attractive as the County and union seek to fill critical vacancies amidst the pandemic recovery. This tentative agreement comes in addition to successful efforts to avert furloughs last winter and a side-letter agreement covering premium pay for all workers that were ratified in the fall. The new TA also makes the winter recess break permanent for county workers, includes premium pay for extra help classifications, and outlines key class and comp wage adjustments for positions that have been below market comparison.
SEIU Local 521 Regional Vice President and Retired Kern County Member Sonja Bennett provided the following statement on the TA announcement:
“All along, our Kern County union members have maintained focus on addressing the obstacles that impact the communities they serve every day. SEIU 521 members have advocated for those they serve – and will continue to do so – from solutions to address issues that directly impact at-risk children within the Department of Human Services, to advocating for the vital needs of residents dealing with mental health challenges, as well as putting forth solutions to solve staffing shortages across the county. This fight was about justice for all workers. Frontline county workers of SEIU 521 demonstrated that when working people come together, we can build a brighter future for our communities, our co-workers, and our families.”
##
Service Employees International Union, Local 521 represents more than 4,000 public-sector workers across Kern County. Under a Community First vision, we are committed to making sure the needs of our community, and the vital services we provide our community, come first. We believe our communities thrive when residents, leaders, and workers recognize that we are all in this together when it comes to our safety, health, and well-being.
