The union that represents 122 San Joaquin County Probation Department officers voted 88 percent in favor of postponing up to 10.7 percent in raises due this year until January 2012.
“If everyone does what we’ve done, it will close the $56 million deficit,” said union head Paul Brennan.
County officials are still talking to the county’s biggest union, Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents 4,500 of the county’s more than 5,800 workers, in an effort to defer or shrink raises due this year.
And Rosa Lee of the county administrator’s office said progress is being made with SEIU, though no agreement on concessions has yet been reached. County officials are also looking for concessions from the deputy sheriff’s union. Both unions are due raises in July that the county’s top administrator, Manuel Lopez, has said would force about 600 layoffs unless the unions agree to changes.
Probation officers were due roughly a 3 percent cost-of-living increase and a 7 percent raise this year.
But they agreed to defer the pay increases until January 2012, a sacrifice on the part of union members, Brennan said.
“They count on the increases to make it from paycheck to check in some instances,” he said.
Post a Comment