Ventura County Workers Authorize Strike

Ventura County government’s largest employee union, seeking higher wages in stalled contract talks, has authorized a strike at the end of the month, union leaders said Thursday.

But despite what he described as the largest turnout in the union’s history, union chief Barry Hammitt refused to say how many members voted Wednesday night. This prompted some county leaders to question how broadly the strike would be supported among 4,200 employees represented by the Service Employees International Union, Local 998.

“If they won’t release the figures, that automatically makes them sound suspect,” said Supervisor Frank Schillo of Thousand Oaks.

Hammitt said 88% of workers voting authorized the union to call a strike and that turnout was sufficient to convince him that employees will walk out if a contract is not in place by June 28, when the current pact expires.

“When push comes to shove, we are confident our members won’t work on those days,” he said.

It is to the union’s advantage to make it appear as though the strike is being widely embraced by members, said Supervisor John Flynn. The threat of a massive walkout plays well at the bargaining table, he said.

“I’m sure it’s part of a grand strategy,” Flynn said. “Barry’s a very smart person. It’s a battle and this is part of his battle plan.”

The union represents most non-public-safety Ventura County employees, including accountants, librarians and clerks. The union is asking Ventura County to pay government employees wages on par with counterparts in 13 neighboring counties and cities. Some employees have fallen as much as 27% behind the pay of workers who do the same jobs in other counties, a joint union-county study shows.

Although county leaders say they are willing to improve salaries and benefits, they will not guarantee that Ventura County’s workers automatically receive raises when pay for the comparison groups goes up.

At its last bargaining session in early May, Ventura County’s negotiating team offered a 3.5% cost-of-living increase. That was rejected by the union, and the two sides have not met formally since.

The union’s next step, Hammitt said, is to “practice striking” by setting up informational pickets. Forty picket captains have been trained to supervise lines if a strike occurs, he said.

Meanwhile, the union is willing to listen if Ventura County wants to make another offer that will get employees to parity wages within a year or two, Hammitt said.

Supervisor Judy Mikels agreed that wages need to be improved to keep and retain good employees.

“But can we do it all at once? Probably not, given our tight fiscal condition,” the Simi Valley supervisor said.