COUNTYWIDE : Mediator Called In to Resolve Talks
Service Employees International Union Local 998 and the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, union officials said Monday.
Larry Wear, associate director of the 40-member union, said the mediator will begin work Wednesday, and the union hopes to reach a settlement by Friday.
The unit, which includes maintenance and construction workers, heavy equipment operators and weighmasters, is looking for a one-year contract that would establish fairer grievance and layoff procedures and a better employee evaluation process, Wear said.
The union’s two-year contract with the sanitation district expired Jan. 17.
At the start of bargaining, union negotiators asked for a 10% salary increase to match wages earned by comparable employees in surrounding areas, Wear said.
Negotiators also sought increases in health-insurance benefits to match those paid to county managers and non-represented employees last November, he said.
Sanitation district officials were unavailable for comment.
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