Ventura County Workers Could Get 6% Raise

Ventura County government workers would receive an average 6% raise under a labor pact that supervisors tentatively approved Tuesday.

About half of the county’s 8,000-employee workforce is covered under the two-year contract, which also gives workers extra money for healthcare expenses.

Service Employees International Union, Local 998 tentatively endorsed the contract July 5. Its membership will vote on it Friday, said Eileen Connelly, spokeswoman for the local.

“We feel confident that it will be ratified,” Connelly said. “We did an employee survey and the read we are getting is that many people are happy with it.”

If employees approve the agreement, they will receive an average 3% raise this year, retroactive to July 3, and another 3% increase next summer, said John K. Nicoll, the county’s chief negotiator. Employees also would get a biweekly $248 cash allowance, an increase of $81, to pay for healthcare, vision and dental costs that are not covered, Nicoll said.

In a separate agreement, county supervisors approved similar increases in the biweekly allowance for 540 management, clerical and other nonunion workers. County Executive Officer Johnny Johnston said that the change provides all of the county’s workers with roughly equivalent healthcare benefits.

“We believe it’s a fair deal and what we could afford,” he said.

Ventura County has struggled in recent years to keep up with rapidly rising health and pension costs, Johnston said. Some workers may still incur additional out-of-pocket costs, he said.