Strike by Children’s Social Workers Averted : Labor: County supervisors offer new wage package. Talks are scheduled to resume today.

A strike by about 2,300 children’s social workers who are demanding more pay was averted Tuesday when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed to offer a new wage package that will bring the two sides back to the bargaining table.

County officials refused to divulge details of the new proposal, but county labor negotiator Marcus Elliot said, “We are optimistic that the offer we have for them will move us towards agreement; there’s something in this package for both sides.”

Union spokesman Phil Ansell said union leaders had yet to see the new proposal. Negotiations were scheduled to resume today.

“All we know is that it is something other than their current position, which is no (salary) increase,” said Ansell, field representative for Local 535 of the Service Employees International Union. “But we are pleased that the board saw fit to make a decision. The action they took is enough to avert a work disruption, at least for one more day.”

The union has been negotiating with the county for more than a year, after a 1991 county-funded pay equity study concluded that social workers, most of whom are women, earn substantially less than probation officers, most of whom are men, even though their jobs are at least as demanding and sometimes put them at higher risk.

Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said after the board’s closed-door decision that the study’s value is limited because it only compared two job categories rather than a range of county job classifications. Nevertheless, the board is sympathetic to the social workers’ complaints, she said.

“We recognize that they should be paid more money,” Burke said.

The children’s social workers, who provide services to 50,000 abused and neglected children, voted 1,324 to 57 last week to authorize a strike to protest the alleged wage discrimination.

In other action, the board unanimously approved changes in the general relief welfare program that will allow recipients to hold jobs and share housing without being penalized.

In September, as a part of budget cutbacks, monthly grants for 102,495 general relief recipients were slashed from $292 to $212. Since then, the number of people receiving assistance has decreased 4.4%, and officials estimate that the county could save up to $40 million if that trend continues.

In light of the development, Supervisor Gloria Molina had urged the board to show compassion by sharing some of the savings with recipients.

The new rules allow recipients to share housing with one other person without having their grant reduced, to earn up to $200 a month and to accumulate up to $1,500 in savings without penalty.

The new rules will apply only to general relief recipients who meet current eligibility criteria.

Social welfare activists hailed the board’s action as a step in the right direction but also pressed the board to fully restore grants to previous levels.

In another budget matter, the board voted to spend $23 million to maintain public safety services for the rest of the fiscal year, with $3 million going to the district attorney’s office. Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti had initially requested $10 million to replace 145 staff members. County officials approved some promotions in the Criminal Division and agreed to fill 32 positions in the Family Support Division, at no county cost.