Santa Maria city union employees planned to approach the City Council during its Jan. 16 meeting (after the Sun went to press) to advocate for a wage increase that keeps up with the cost of living.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 620 represents almost 50 percent of Santa Maria’s city employees, with members in utilities, public works, recreation and parks, and a few police and fire administrative employees, said Nicole Bryant, an SEIU Local 620 field representative.
“This city works because our employees do; they are the ones that pick up trash each day, that make sure parks are maintained and safe, they run all our youth and senior programs, they support the library,” Bryant said. “Our members need to see livable wages to maintain the level of service at the city of Santa Maria.”
Negotiations between the city and the union have been going on for a few months now, with delays due to turnover in both human resources and administrative departments. While negotiations have been going well, Bryant said they are “coming down to the wire” because SEIU’s contract expired at the end of December and the wage increase is not meeting the cost-of-living increase needed. Contract negotiations are scheduled to resume at the end of January.
Inflation rose by 11.1 percent in the duration of the SEIU’s contracts, and while other jurisdictions saw a minimum wage increase by 16.3 percent, local SEIU members only saw a 5.5 percent increase, Bryant said.
“We have another bargaining session with the city, and we’re hoping that their final offer will have an increase in the cost of living,” she said. “The city is losing employees by the day; there’s a large number of vacant positions at the city because their employees are leaving to go to better cities that have met the needs of employment contracts.”
According to the city’s website, there are 16 vacancies in city departments. The city of Santa Maria couldn’t be reached at press time.
Bryant added that the SEIU, which represents members from northern SLO County to southern Santa Barbara County, is seeing more action than its local areas have seen in years because of COVID’s impacts on the economy and inflation.
“We have seen an increase, and I think the state as a whole has seen an increase in union action as well due to a number of factors,” Bryant said. “I think it’s great; I think employees having a voice is necessary, especially with public employment, and it’s a huge benefit. That’s why we have collective bargaining in the first place: to give employees a place at the table and have their needs met.”
This article appears in Jan 18-28, 2024.