El Dorado County workers set to receive raises
Members of El Dorado County’s largest union are expected to vote on a contract proposal on Oct. 3 and Oct. 7.
The deal Local 1 reached with county officials calls for a 5 percent raise effective the first full pay period after the Board of Supervisors ratifies the agreement. This would occur sometime in October assuming the union votes for the contract.
The agreement also calls for 5 percent pay increases on July 1, 2014, and another 5 percent on July 1, 2015.
The county will conduct a study to see how employee salaries compare to their peers.
The county had wanted employees to pay 4 percent more to fund their retirement, but that has been taken off the negotiation table.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
This is very much needed. The pay and comp study will show the County is 20% to 30% under the comparative jurisdictions. I pushed very hard to get the County to acknowledge this up to my recent retirement. Glad the Board is considering this. Vacancy rates have been way too high with the very low wages in place. Services to the community will improve with the ability to recruit and retain good staff.
Pension costs have been identified as a major cause of government budget problems. Why then not require higher contributions by employees? Industry requires it, why not tax funded employment?
And by the way it’s a 10% raise in that 12 month period from July 2014 to July 2015.
So they get a raise and the same retirement package without needing to contribute? So where is the money going to come from once they retire? I now have to believe that while I am paying/saving for my retirement I will be paying for theirs as well.
Let the workers have a raise. I’m getting real sick and tired of judgmental people who have the attitude “I’ve got mine, too bad for you”. Its the Republican way hence the government shutdown.
Really “I’ve got mine “. Well I don’t have mine and I don’t think i am going to get a 15% raise. I also know that no one is going to hand me a retirement package where I continue to get paid for decades after I retire. AND, yes why are we not requiring them to contribute. The reason there is a government shut down right now is that we are out of money – continuing to print it is not the answer. I am very disappointed is this cave in to the unions.
actually, the government is shut down because they can’t agree on a budget. Not because they are out of money. By the way, the county is hiring for those who are angry because of their benefit package.
Tahoe Gal,
Does it really help those workers in the private sector, that have been brutalized over the last 30+ years by a transfer of wealth from the middle class to the 1% by trickle down economics, to propose dragging every unionized worker down to low paying/no benefits/no raises jobs? Or would it be a better idea to demand collective bargaining and fight for labor rights and trade policies that would bring back decent jobs and wages and stop forcing the American worker to compete with near slave wages in 3rd world countries? Anyone who has studied the labor movement in America’s history can see that the pendulum has swung way to the right again towards the global corps and needs to be pushed in the other direction by “We the People” of the middle class if there is to be any progress on jobs in the future.
Follow the money. Unions pay off (campaign donations) elected officials so there is no arm’s length negotiations. Unions members win, pol’s win, and taxpayers lose. The left wing pol’s would dearly love to completely dismantle Prop. 13 and in fact have already started. It ain’t gona get better.
We are entering if not firmly part of the Brave New World and 1984.
BB, the pendulum has not swung against government employees and in fact is still swinging in there direction. Though defined benefit packages are slowly now becoming defined contribution packages. Even the government unions saw they were killing the goose with the golden eggs.
suspiciousmind,
So I gather from your response that you believe we should continue to dismantle good paying middle class Union jobs and join the race to the bottom on wages and benefits until the entire American labor force(those that actually work for a paycheck) consists of Walmart-like employment packages for all that keep everyone on the edge of abject poverty and even more reliant on government services to survive. I don’t see the alternative you have in mind, I only hear the same old hate gubmint/hate liberals blah blah blah… no solutions, just whining about those that still have decent jobs.