Deputies Pressure Board for Pay Hike

Emboldened by a recent court victory awarding them increased retirement benefits, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies staged a rally Tuesday to demand a 5% pay raise and other benefit changes.

Nearly 200 members of the Ventura County Deputy Sheriffs Assn. marched into the Board of Supervisors’ meeting in a show of solidarity for a wage increase that they say would put them on par with other law enforcement agencies in the area.

“If we don’t pay comparable wages in our marketplace, we lose the best people to other counties and to other employers,” said union President David Williams, whose 780 members have been without a contract since July. “We become a third- or fourth-rate work force. Who wants that?”

Although state law prohibits the deputies from striking, Williams said union members have “not ruled it out.” At the very least, he said, members would consider work slowdowns or other protest actions.

“Our intent is to put the importance of this to the board,” Williams said. “It’s about food, money and benefits for [deputies’] families. What will they do to increase their chances of getting that? The sky’s the limit. It’s a labor issue.”

Speaking for the Board of Supervisors, Chairman John K. Flynn criticized the union’s tactics, specifically threatening an illegal strike and questioning the board’s commitment to public safety.

“As far as I’m concerned, law enforcement should not take part in illegal activities,” Flynn said. “I don’t understand their tactics. We’ve supported law enforcement with the propositions and ordinances to give them money to keep up with inflation.”

Saying that the board is putting public safety in jeopardy is “an accusation that has no merit to it,” Flynn said.

The deputies association is the first of eight county unions whose contracts come up for renewal this fiscal year, as the county struggles to close an estimated $4-million gap in its spending plan. Personnel costs represent more than half of the county’s $500-million general fund budget.

In an effort to rein in those costs, last winter county officials balked at salary demands made by the prosecutors union. A settlement was eventually reached, however, after the union filed a lawsuit against the county.

On Tuesday, representatives of the deputy sheriffs union wheeled into the supervisors’ meeting about 10,000 postcards signed by county residents in support of deputies’ salary demands. The signatures were collected over three weeks in August, many of them garnered at the Ventura County Fair.

The deputies union also released preliminary results from a county audit commissioned by eight county unions that members say shows $33 million in unspent savings that could be made available for salary hikes.

County negotiators rejected the argument that deputies are underpaid and said they are unwilling to spend the $2.6 million annually that the union’s demand would cost.

Ed McLean, the county’s chief negotiator in talks with the deputies union, said deputies are paid equal to if not better than other area law enforcement agencies when the total wage and benefits package is considered.

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“There’s not a lot of sense in going back to the bargaining table,” McLean said. “No employer I know of would prefer to not have an agreement, but at the same time, there’s got to be a reasonable settlement and a reason for having a settlement. I would hope we could do something to resolve this.”

In addition to seeking a wage increase, union members say they are facing skyrocketing costs in their health plan rates next year and want officials to give them more insurance options. Although they have two insurance carriers to choose from now, Williams and others have complained in the past that employees feel pressured to join the county’s health-care plan, which they say does not meet all of their needs.

With both sides unwilling to budge, county and union officials say they are open to bringing in a state mediator to resolve the 2-month-old labor dispute.

Flynn questioned the accuracy of the union’s audit of county finances and said that to assume there is an extra $33 million and that such funds should be spent on employee raises would invite bankruptcy.

“The resolution is for them to go back to the bargaining table, negotiate and stop playing,” Flynn said. “Representatives of the sheriffs association are going to have to loosen up a little bit and face reality.”

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The union’s continuing contract woes follow a huge labor victory in August, when the state Supreme Court ruled that the county must include 11 additional benefits above base pay when calculating retirement benefits.

Ruling on a suit filed by the deputy sheriffs association against the county Board of Retirement, the court agreed that extra pay for things such as bilingual abilities, uniform expenses and cash paid in lieu of vacation time must be included in pension formulas.

The ruling is expected to cost counties across the state millions of dollars in additional pension costs, as well as affect future labor negotiations by increasing the cost of every benefit paid.

Ventura County officials have petitioned the state Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. The court is expected to respond to the request this month.