On August 24, Local 21's ContraCostaCounty membership overwhelmingly ratified a tentative agreement reached with ContraCostaCounty for a successor contract, which will result in more than $ 5 million in savings to protect vital County jobs and services. The Union had been actively fighting off imposition for over a month.
After two years of concessions, the Union entered negotiations, again, offering concessions, understanding the current economic slump, and the need to prevent additional cuts to services and jobs. "Our members understood the County's struggle and we wanted to ensure that additional cuts to our programs and services were prevented," said Local 21 Chapter President Sue Guest, "We knew we needed to make concessions, we just needed to ensure that decisions were made thoughtfully."
The Union agreed to a 2.75% wage decrease, absorption of healthcare inflation for 2012, increases in employee retirement contributions, and a lower retirement tier for future employees. Public employees have been stepping up these last few years by agreeing to concessions to maintain service levels. The agreed-to concessions were less than what the County included in its last, best, and final offer to us, and also included important protections for our members.
