During the 2008 holiday season, while most workers will be counting down the hours until they get a few blissful uninterrupted vacation days, about 2,000 county employees will be off from work, spending a full two weeks away from their desks. It seems like a good deal, but first impressions can be deceiving.
“It was either this or have our co-workers lose their jobs,” said Muriel Jones, president of the local Service Employees International Union Local 620 that represents more than half of the county workforce, around 2,000 employees.
Jones, who works in the probation department, and her fellow union members voted on June 13 to take part in a work furlough program. Union members will take two weeks of unpaid leave around the winter holidays, and in exchange the county has agreed not to lay off any county employees.
Without the furlough about 100 people would have lost their jobs, said Walter Hamilton, executive director of the SEIU Local 620. Hamilton negotiated with the county human resources department on behalf of union members to secure this deal. A furlough is not unprecedented, but it is uncommon. Hamilton said it has happened once before in Santa Barbara County in the early ‘90s.
“It was controversial,” Hamilton said of this furlough. It also resulted in one of the highest voter turnouts for a union resolution in years, he said. The final vote was 60 percent in favor of the furlough and 40 percent opposed.
Those who were against the furlough complained of lost wages, and having to take a pay cut right around the winter holidays. To address that particular concern, Hamilton said the loss in wages would be spread out over paychecks throughout the year.
There was also some grumbling, from employees whose jobs were not in jeopardy, Hamilton admitted. But in the end, workers decided to take the pay cut.
“I personally was proud that the majority felt that protecting their co-workers jobs was something that they were willing to make a sacrifice to do,” Hamilton said.
The situation came about because of a lack of money at the county level. With a shortfall of funds, county management asked departments to shave about 5 percent off their budget, Hamilton said. Most departments would have had to layoff workers, which led to the furlough as an alternative.
The union looked at other options before deciding to take a furlough, Hamilton said, including forgoing raises and switching to a four-day workweek. But no other option would save as much money as the furlough. Two weeks without pay for union employees will amount to more than $6 million in savings for the county, he said.
That money saved will go towards the county balancing a deficit of $16 million for the next fiscal year. William Boyer, communications director for the county of Santa Barbara said that the budget has been balanced, with the furlough as part of the solution.
“It’s part of an overall strategy that the county is doing in light of the fiscal situation we’re facing,” he said.
The budget $16 million shortfall was caused by increased costs put upon the county by the Board of Retirement, he said. The board is a separate entity that projects how much money county employees will need to retire in the future, among other things.
The county hasn’t even begun to take into account the budget cuts that will be coming down from the state level, Boyer said.
“The county of Santa Barbara gratefully acknowledges both the members and the leadership of 620 for their recognition of the challenges facing the county at this time,” Boyer said.
On Monday, June 23, county representatives met with the union again to take care of any final details involved with the furlough, including negotiating how the furlough would be taken. Emergency services. For example, can’t have workers gone for two weeks at a time.
But, those are just logistics. The furlough is going to happen, Jones said, and it isn’t optional. As a result, she’s been fielding many, many more complaints from members than she has in her 12 years as union president.
Most of those complaints are founded, in Jones’ opinion. She said that the union has had to be more flexible on their current contract than they would normally have been in the past because of the county budget problems.
“I think there were a lot of things that people weren’t happy with,” she said. But, “It was the best deal we could get.”
The furlough is designed to be a one-time thing. Hamilton said he doesn’t think the union would be willing to take a furlough two years in a row.
“They would think, hey, we’ve given them a year to get their act together,” Hamilton said.
Contact Sports Editor Sarah E. Thien at sthien@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 3, 2008.