Solano County Workers Vote to Strike

Solano County workers have voted in favor of a one-day strike next Wednesday to protest what they consider are unfair labor practices by the county.

Ninety percent of the roughly 1,800 county workers who are members of Service Employees International Union Local 1021 voted Friday to give their bargaining team the power to call an unfair labor practices strike if necessary, union officials said.

SEIU Local 1021 spokeswoman Cecille Isidro said the county has not bargained in good faith and failed to have a representative with the authority to negotiate at the bargaining table.

Negotiations between the county and the union have been going on for three months and the union’s contract expired Sept. 28, Isidro said.

The union includes social workers, mental health specialists, public health nurses, librarians, public safety dispatchers and clerical workers, among others.

Nadeen Roach, an eligibility benefits specialist, said the union has asked the county to address worker and client safety concerns but it has been shut down. “The families and children who rely on us deserve better that that. We’re going on strike for them, to protest the county’s disrespectful, dangerous and unlawful conduct,” Roach said in a statement.

Solano County officials said Wednesday that the union did not reply to the county’s last, best and final proposal or indicate when the parties should meet again. County officials said they have proposed a two-year, $11.9 million contract and benefits package that includes a 3 percent wage increase upon ratification and another 3 percent in October 2016.

The package maintains the county’s current health insurance contribution and a cafeteria plan contribution with increased contributions in 2016 and 2017, county officials said.

SEIU demanded a 3.5 percent wage increase upon adoption and a 3.25 percent increase in October 2016, according to the county.

The union also demanded higher medical contributions, the elimination of cost sharing for employee pensions and an additional floating holiday, county officials said.

The cost of the union’s benefit package proposal is approximately $18.3 million - $6.3 million more than the county’s proposal, county officials said. Both parties have met 19 times, according to the county.

“I am disappointed that an agreement was not reached. However, I remain hopeful that all parties involved can reach a satisfactory solution and reach one soon,” County Administrator Birgitta Corsello said in a statement.

Isidro said the county’s information about both sides’ proposals is accurate, but said the possible strike Wednesday is a protest about the county’s legal conduct during negotiations.

“We just need them to bargain in good faith and obey the laws that govern negotiations. We want an opportunity to reach a fair contract,” Isidro said.

--Bay City News; Image via SEIU Local 1021