Probation Officers Protest Rate of Pay

In a protest over pay rate and employment practices, about 70 Ventura County probation and correction services officers picketed Thursday in front of the county government center.

The 300 officers last received a 2% raise when their contract expired in December 1997. A state mediator and officials at the Ventura County Professional Peace Officers Assn. have met several times since the first impasse was declared in October 1997.

Employees have requested a 4.7% pay increase, but county officials have offered 2.5% over two years, said Diane Hubbard, a deputy probation officer and the union’s vice president.

Entry level probation officers earn $28,000 per year, while their correction services officers counterparts--who work at juvenile hall and patrol parks, harbors and airports--earn $22,000 per year.

The local probation officers’ salaries rank the second-lowest of eight counties in Southern California, Hubbard said. Only Riverside and San Luis Obispo counties trail Ventura County, she said.

The pay rate for local correction services officers ranks the lowest of the eight Southern California counties, she said.

“We can’t keep people and we can’t attract people with the kind of salary we are making,” Hubbard said. “Last year, 26 people resigned. This year so far, eight people have resigned.

“We’re hoping to send a message to the county that we want to be treated fairly,” she added.