Members have stood together and fought for each other across our union. Here are some of the wins we have achieved!
Raises For Many L21 Members in June and July:
Across Local 21, members have fought for strong contracts with guaranteed wage increases. The majority of Local 21 members are getting raises this month as a result.
- City of San Francisco: 3% increases
- Contra Costa County: 3% increases
- City of San Jose: 5% increases
- Civil Engineers Management Unit: 4% increases
- The Alameda County Counsel: 2% increases
- Alameda Public Defender Chapters: 2% increases
- Santa Clara Valley Water District: 4% increases
- Santa Clara Transportation Authority Engineers and Architects: 3% increases
- Cupertino Employee Association: 2.5% increases
- West Contra Costa Unified School District: 3% increases
Civil Engineers Management Unit (CEMU) Negotiations:
The CEMU chapter was clear from the beginning that members wanted to focus on equity adjustments. Over the last decade, CEMU has not gotten broad equity adjustments and has watched as wages stayed flat even as the regional economy boomed.
Members provided the power and elbow grease to make certain their fair bargaining requests were heard. CEMU members showed up at the bargaining table to explain the details of each job title’s impacts on County operations and why fairer wages were deserved. They did not stop there. Members attended Board of Supervisors meetings and consistently advocated for a fair contract. When the consultants representing the County continued to behave unfairly, members led a telephone campaign, swamping Board of Supervisor’s phone lines with comments about the conduct of hired consultants.
Bargaining Team member Rohin Saleh said that “The County tried to divide us, but it didn’t work”.
CEMU members won 17.5% COLA increases over a 5-year Agreement and special equity adjustments for 15 of 18 job titles within the chapter. The deal was overwhelmingly ratified by the chapter members in June.
While there is always more work to do in the future, CEMU members are rightfully proud of their achievements in bargaining. Special thanks to Bargaining Team members: Jason Garrison, Cindy Horvath, Rohin Saleh, and Matt Muniz, and to lead negotiator Ken Page for all their hard work.
West Contra Costa Unified School District Negotiations: 
West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) members negotiated a 3-year deal with retroactive wage increases to last July for a total of 5% in 2018, with 2 more COLA increases coming in the next two years.
Members also increased the District’s contribution toward health care costs. As healthcare costs continue to rise in the Bay Area and nationally, Local 21 members continue to make steady progress in the fight to ensure affordable health care for members and our families. During bargaining, WCCUSD members also fought off an employer proposal to leave CalPERS health care and were able to increase the District’s health care contributions towards healthcare to cover 80% of 2018 rates.
The contract was overwhelmingly approved by the membership, with over 98% voting in favor.
WCCUSD members tied their bargaining campaign to Local 21’s Gold Card Campaign, making the connection between shoring up our internal strength and solidarity and our ability to negotiate strong contracts now and in the future. Special thanks to Bargaining Team members Louie Jackson, Mary Kitchen, Kim Chamberlain, Linda Castellan, and Cedric Latrielle, and lead negotiator Justin Decker for all their hard work.
