County Union OKs Strike Over Wages

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.

“As far as we’re concerned, we’re still at the table,” County Executive Officer Johnny Johnston said. “They declared impasse and left.”

Johnston said he is opposed to an automatic pay increase because it takes away the flexibility of the Board of Supervisors to make budget decisions.

He is willing to improve wages, Johnston said, but will not agree to a set formula guaranteeing increases.

The county’s prosecutors, public defenders, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters won that concession in previous contracts. Johnston, who took over the executive post in April, believes it was a mistake.

“It’s true that my predecessor in a different time tried that,” he said. “But it’s not working very well and we are moving away from that.”

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.

“Maybe that is the start of a fabric to put something together that works for everyone,” he said. “We are seeking a commitment to get to parity and a date to get there.”

That would sit well with some members of the Board of Supervisors.

“There are quite a few people who really don’t earn very much money,” said Flynn, who represents the Oxnard area. “I can understand their dissatisfaction. However, we do have negotiators and everybody needs to get back to the table.”

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. “But I would hate to see a work slowdown or an out-and-out strike. I don’t think anyone benefits.”

Negotiations on a new contract between the county and the union representing 700 sheriff’s deputies have also broken down. County lawyers filed a lawsuit challenging the deputies’ right to bring in an arbitration panel to settle their dispute over better pay and expanded retirement benefits.

But an agreement has been reached with a third labor group representing 300 probation officers, park rangers and harbor patrol. Jim Schmitt, vice president of the Professional Peace Officers’ Assn., said his group has accepted a one-year pact that will give members an immediate 5% increase, with 2.5% more in December.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Schmitt said. “We are still way behind on parity in some classifications. But we are getting closer.”