Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "united public employees local 1"

Supervisors nix plan to cut employee work hours

2009-10-21T05:27:19Z

A highly controversial plan from county executives to shorten the work schedules of about 7,000 union-represented employees failed Tuesday when the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted it down.

Instead of adopting the contentious plan, which union officials had alleged was illegal, the supervisors decided to lay off 76 employees.

However, the 76 layoffs are not set in stone — the county is allowing room to lower that number through more negotiations with unions.

Sacramento County, which recently faced a $76-million shortfall, approved its budget earlier this month. More than 700 county employees have been laid off since July, according to county spokesman Zeke Holst. County officials cite the poor economy as the reason it is in a financial crisis.

Steve Keil, the county’s labor relations director, told The Sacramento Press outside the meeting that the 76 planned layoffs could change depending on the possibility of new concessions from unions.

“If we can get additional concessions, we will either not lay those people off or restore them after we lay them off,” Keil said.

The proposal rejected by the board would have cut 16 hours per month from employees represented by unions, according to county documents.

Ted Somera, executive director of United Public Employees Local 1, said he was frustrated with the day’s events. The union had fought against the plan to shorten work schedules.

With the controversial work hours plan no longer in the picture, the union will now negotiate with the county to lower numbers of layoffs, Somera said. The union wanted to negotiate about layoffs, but had to fight the work hours plan first, he noted.

“I’m frustrated because we’re back at ‘Square 1,’ ” Somera told The Sacramento Press.

All five supervisors spoke out against the proposal to shorten work schedules, which was formally called the “.908 plan.” Supervisor Jimmie Yee called it “a bad idea.”

The plan would have resulted in the county facing grievances and legal actions “with no certainty of the outcome,” said Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan.

Photo by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County lays off 300 staffers, 700 since July

2009-09-23T03:20:59Z

Sacramento County’s elected officials laid off 300 employees Tuesday, which brings the total number of layoffs to more than 700 since July, according to county spokesman Zeke Holst.

Susan Peters, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors, said at the Tuesday board meeting that the layoffs were needed in response to the ailing economy. In her comments, she foreshadowed possible upcoming layoffs to address the county’s $76 million shortfall. “I honestly don’t think that this is the last time you’ll see us back here with position reductions,” Peters said.

“And we may be able to tweak a few things next week, but it’s not going to be very much, if anything,” she added. “I’m sorry the economy is the way it is, and I wish there was some way we could patch together this budget that no one would be hurt.”

Many more budget-related developments are expected to unfold in the coming weeks. The board approved layoffs Tuesday, but hasn’t yet passed its final budget for the current fiscal year. It has planned new budget hearings to take place Sept. 29, Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. The final budget is now scheduled to be approved Oct. 2, according to Mark Norris, administrator of the county’s Internal Services Agency.

County unions, including United Public Employees Local 1 and the Sacramento County Alliance of Law Enforcement, are likely to continue battling with the supervisors. Unions are strongly protesting a county plan to create shortened work schedules for about 7,000 employees.

Christa Yous, an investigative assistant with the Department of Human Assistance, told the supervisors that she has received a pink slip from the county and is on a future rehire list. With her voice shaking, Yous said she has become “the face of the terrible economic turmoil that’s before this county.”

Photo of Supervisor Susan Peters by Kati Garner.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County: New budget gap on top of $68 million shortfall

2009-09-17T03:15:43Z

On top of its current $68 million shortfall, Sacramento County has a new $8.1 million budget gap from falling sales tax revenues, Sacramento County officials told the Board of Supervisors Wednesday.

The new budget gap means that layoffs — in addition to the 382 currently proposed — are a definite possibility, which is unfortunate, said County Executive Terry Schutten in response to a question from The Sacramento Press.

The Board of Supervisors was scheduled to make final decisions today to balance its 2009/2010 budget. However, the situation changed in light of new information that the county’s sales tax revenues are plummeting again. The board now plans to make its final budget decisions on Tuesday.

Planned budget cuts include the 382 layoffs and shortened work schedules for about 7,000 employees, according to the most recently updated information available Wednesday from county spokesman Zeke Holst.

Schutten said that county executives met on Monday and nearly balanced the supervisors’ final budget priorities.

“However, at 4:45 p.m. ... on Monday afternoon, our chief operating officer received notification from our tax consultant that, for the last quarter, our sales tax were down 26 percent. And for the entire year-to-year, our drop was approximately 14 percent,” Schutten told the supervisors.

Those figures create a $4.1 million gap, he explained. The county lost another $4 million in revenues from sales taxes that are collected statewide and then delivered to local governments for public safety programs, Schutten said. The loss of the sales tax money that goes to public safety programs will affect the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department and District Attorney’s office.

Meanwhile, the vice chair of United Public Employees Local 1 told the supervisors that the union would make concessions on retirement benefits if the county drops its proposal to shorten the work schedules for about 7,000 employees represented by unions.

“As a show of good faith yesterday, UPE is willing to defer the Retiree Health Savings Plan accounts that we have, which potentially saves the county millions of dollars," said Beverly Kearney, vice chair of UPE Local 1. "We’re hoping that this will save jobs and mitigate layoffs.”

But Schutten told The Sacramento Press after the board meeting that UPE’s proposal would not garner the savings the county needs. UPE’s “main concern was the retirement health care account, and that’s for $8 million,” Schutten said. "Of that $8 million, only $1.9 million is local dollars. So it’s not near enough to cover the shortfalls that we have. It was a good suggestion. We certainly appreciate it, and look forward to working with them.”

Photo of Supervisor Roger Dickinson by Kati Garner.

Photo of presentation on sales tax by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

County's layoffs/reduced hours plan is "illegal," union alleges

2009-08-28T01:20:24Z

A union that represents Sacramento County clerical workers and social workers is alleging that the county government’s plans to cut 360 positions and reduce employee hours are illegal. In response, the county’s labor relations director said the county’s plans are “perfectly legal.”

The United Public Employees Local 1 is fighting county management’s planned cuts to positions and hours. County Executive Terry Schutten outlined county management’s proposal for the layoffs and cutbacks in an Aug. 24 memo that can be read here.

Schutten’s memo says the county now has a $54.5 million deficit. Plus, $7.8 million will need to be cut from the county’s budget because building activity is poor, Schutten wrote.

The county has proposed to cut 360 positions on Sept. 27. County management is also planning to take 16 hours per month out of the work schedule of county employees who are represented by unions. A new schedule with the decreased work hours is planned to start Nov. 8.

“We believe Mr. Schutten’s proposal is in direct violation of our contract in many ways,” Ted Somera, executive director of UPE Local 1, told The Sacramento Press Thursday. “We will fight this. We believe, like I said, it’s illegal.”

The union notes on its website that UPE members currently hold roughly 238 of the positions that are proposed to be eliminated.

Though Somera said UPE Local 1 is fighting Schutten’s proposal, he also noted that the union is open to holding talks with county management.

“We’re not even interested in entertaining their proposal,” Somera said. “What we’re interested in is what we can do collectively to mitigate layoffs, as well as to continue to provide those services to the communities.”

Sacramento County Labor Relations Director Steve Keil said he appreciates Somera’s willingness to meet with county managers. The county has sent an invitation to meet with UPE Local 1, as well as all other county employee groups to discuss how the proposal would be implemented and alternatives that may come from the unions.

In response to Somera’s allegation that the proposal is illegal, Keil said, “Obviously, we disagree.” The cutbacks of positions and work hours would be made through a process that is “perfectly legal,” Keil said.

The layoffs of county employees will create “a hardship in terms of our ability to provide services,” Keil said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.