Irvine : Hourly City Employees Open Contract Talks

Representatives of Irvine’s hourly municipal employees sat down Tuesday with management for the first time in the city’s history to negotiate a contract for the coming year, a union spokesman said.

The 6-month-old Irvine City Employees Assn., which represents about 300 workers, said it hopes to resolve contract talks quickly, association board member Dennis Ruvolo said.

Union representatives will bring up issues including benefits, promotional opportunities, seniority and job security, Ruvolo said.

“We would like to see city employees have the opportunity to advance in the city instead of bringing in people from the outside for openings,” he said. Ruvolo declined to discuss any other specific demands the association will make during negotiations.

The city workers were the last municipal employees in Orange County to form an association when they unionized last May.