Collective Bargaining Change Allowed

Ventura County supervisors have unanimously agreed to lower -- to 20% -- the percentage of in-home care providers who must agree to be represented by a labor group before a union can begin collective bargaining.

Barry Hammitt, leader of Service Employees International Union Local 998, had argued the county’s earlier requirement of 30% was too high because home workers are hard to reach.

Bruce Stenslie, a Human Services Agency director, recommended that supervisors agree to the change so the union can begin negotiating wages and benefits for the estimated 1,600 workers affected countywide.

“Our purpose is to get us to collective bargaining, not to set up any barriers,” he said.