The Collective Bargaining Cycle Has Begun!

The contracts or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the County bargaining units that SLOCEA represents expire on June 30, 2025. Those bargaining units include: Trades Crafts and Services (Trades), bargaining unit 02 and three units that make up the “Big Unit”: Public Services, Supervisory, and Clerical, respectively bargaining units 01, 05 and 13. 

SLOCEA recognizes the financial challenges our members face, particularly in the face of rising costs of living. Our Negotiating Teams is dedicated to negotiating for successor agreements (labor contracts) that provide meaningful improvements in compensation and benefits for our members. 

On Monday, April 21, SLOCEA’s Negotiating Team participated with the County’s team in negotiations session #1 for successor agreements (MOUs). 

The following individuals represented SLOCEA at the April 21st bargaining table: 

• SLOCEA’s Chief Negotiator and General Counsel: Dennis Hayes

• SLOCEA’s General Counsel: Paige Chretien

• Senior Labor Representative: Theresa Schultz

Big Unit Team:

• SLOCEA President: Nate Larsen, Social Services

• SLOCEA Vice President Norma Domingo, Public Health

• Public Services: Katya Goodman, Assessor

• Public Services: Kyle Whelan, Public Works

• Supervisory: Tom Arnold, Social Services

• Clerical: Kathleen Curtis-Ames, Sheriff’s office

Trades Team:

• Ricardo Camacho, Public Works

• Jim Hutchinson, Public Works

• Mike Johnson, Public Works

• Kevin Sulitz, Parks

The following individuals represented the County at the April 21st bargaining table:

• Chief Negotiator and Outside Counsel: Jeff Sloan

• Human Resources Deputy Director for Labor: Mark Zeltmann

• Human Resources Principal Analyst for Labor: Michael Hobbs

• HR Labor Relations Analyst: Lindsey Cora

• HR Labor Relations Analyst: Briana Martenies

Session Summary

The session took place in the morning with County representatives explaining the County’s economic condition, its $15 million budget gap and the County’s goal of rebalancing the budget. The County stated that a fair and competitive compensation package is a priority for them in negotiations. 

The County further introduced their “New Universe”, a new network of comparator agencies that was used in contract negotiations last year with two other unions. The County’s network of comparator agencies eliminated from the list Fresno County, Kern County, and the San Luis School District, and added Napa County, Solano County, and Yolo County, and is collectively 3.5% higher than the old network of comparator agencies. SLOCEA is currently vetting out these new agencies for their cost of living and compensation packages.  

The County's network of comparator agencies now includes: 

• Monterey County (existing)

• Santa Barbara County (existing)

• Santa Cruz County (existing)

• Ventura County (existing)

• Cal Poly (existing)

• City of San Luis Obispo (existing)

• El Dorado County (existing)

• Napa County (new)

• Placer County (existing)

• Solano County (new)

• Sonoma County (existing)

• Yolo County (new)

• State of California (existing)

• Private Sector (existing)

Topics and Proposals

At the bargaining table there was a discussion regarding pension contributions for the three different Pension Trust tiers and cafeteria contributions for the County and their comparator agencies. The County also proposed no-impact cleanup language to incorporate existing side letter agreements into the various MOU’s.

SLOCEA tabled seven non-economic proposals for the Big Unit, and tabled eight non-economic proposals for the Trades Unit. Some of the topics covered by SLOCEA’s proposals included: 

• An Independent Neutral Hearing Officer: This proposal would give the SLOCEA member the option to have their grievance or appeal heard by qualified hearing officer rather than the Civil Service Commission.

• Supervisory Training: This proposal would require that the County provide formalized job and supervisory training within the first 30 days of an employee’s assignment or promotion to a supervisory classification.

• Work schedules: Currently the MOU requires 24-hour prior notice to change in employee’s work schedule. This proposal would increase that notification to two weeks and would align with the MOU’s two-week notice for a change in work location.

• Employee Representation: When an employee is represented by SLOCEA in an adverse action, this proposal would require that the County provide SLOCEA with the same written correspondence that they do to the employee.

• Unit Modification: SLOCEA proposed that the County notify the union in writing when there are changes in the Position Allocation List that result in a loss of positions from our bargaining units. 

The County did not table any proposals in Session #1. 

The session concluded just before lunch. Session #2 was scheduled for May 5, 2025, and future negotiating sessions were also scheduled for May and June.  

The SLOCEA Negotiating Team is fully committed to working diligently throughout the collective bargaining process to secure meaningful improvements in wages and benefits for all members. We aim to ensure that employees are fairly compensated for the services they provide to the County and the public. 

Theresa Schultz

Senior Labor Representative