Union, County Accord ‘Close’

Even as a faction of union members accused Ventura County government leaders of double-crossing them on wage hikes, union leaders emerged from a meeting Thursday saying they are “very close” to reaching agreement on a tentative contract.

About 100 protesters accused county officials of backing off an agreement made in late July to resolve contract issues by early October. County chief Johnny Johnston is “stalling” over the union’s demand for improved retirement benefits, speakers said at the 15-minute rally held outside the County Government Center in Ventura.

“They made a commitment to get this done by Oct. 2,” said Gloria Goldman, a code enforcement officer who helped organize the protest. “We want our raise--now.”

But leaders of the 4,200-member Service Employees International Union, Local 998, said the rally may have been premature. After meeting with county officials for two days, they are “very close” to reaching a tentative agreement on all issues, union President Keith Filegar said.

“I think it’s a real possibility we’ll have an agreement by Oct. 2,” Filegar said. “A lot of us think we’ve gotten everything we can get out of the county.”

Talks are scheduled to resume today.

Johnston disputes he had agreed to activate wage increases by a specific date. He said he has insisted all contract issues be resolved before salary hikes take place.

“There was never a representation to have a deal by a certain date,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t work hard to get that done.”

In July, hundreds of social workers, librarians, accountants and other union members walked off the job to push for enhanced pension benefits. Negotiators had already reached tentative agreement on an average 10% wage hike over three years.

But talks broke down when the county turned down the union’s request to increase employee pensions by 3% each year to keep pace with inflation. Employees hired after 1979 do not have that benefit.

After six days of strikes, workers agreed to return on July 26 while a consultant updated a report on the health of the employees’ retirement fund. That report, received earlier this week, shows the fund has a $359-million surplus.

That is down slightly from the previous year’s $368 million but is still more than enough to pay for the benefit increase sought, union officials say.

Johnston, however, said he wants to wait until he has reviewed employees’ actuarial data, due next week, before he decides whether the county can afford the benefit’s estimated $108-million cost.

“We have to get all of the facts and figure out what is affordable and at what price,” Johnston said.

Many union members attending Thursday’s demonstration said they are unwilling to wait. Several said they believe their union leadership has not pressed hard enough for a contract.

“The union said they are within a week and a half of agreement. But their credibility is not good right now,” said Bob Turner, a specialist in drug and alcohol treatment.

Union chief Barry Hammitt was in a negotiating session and did not attend the rally. Filegar also did not attend the rally.

Hammitt said the gathering was not sanctioned by the union--but insisted he was not opposed to it.

“There is still a pretty high level of anxiety in the work force,” Hammitt said. “We agreed to let them buy time and now that they have had that time, workers are worried they are going to cheap out again.”

Rally participants said they were not concerned about pushing for a labor contract at a time when the nation is preparing for war and grieving the loss of nearly 7,000 people in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“Do people value our work?” asked Michelle Santiesteban, a counselor at a shelter for abused and neglected children. “We should be putting our money into people who help other people. It’s a shame we even have to have a protest.”

Johnston must tread carefully in approving benefit increases because another county labor group is also pushing for improved retirement benefits. The county’s 750 sheriff’s deputies are demanding a retirement perk that would allow an officer with 25 years’ experience to retire at age 50 with 75% of his or her pay.

Any financial review must take the demands of all employee groups into account to make sure the county is not promising more than it can afford, Johnston said.

“None of this creates new money,” he said. “It just gives us a better understanding of where we will be hit and what we can expect.”