Union members could get raises under contract deal

By Joe Schoenmann

Published Monday, March 14, 2011 | 11:48 a.m.

Updated Monday, March 14, 2011 | 2:08 p.m.

The county’s largest employees union is close to sealing a contract with the county, a move that could avoid the potential risk of putting a decision in the hands of an arbitrator. The one-year deal could also save about 100 jobs.

Even with the tentative agreement of a 2 percent wage cut, however, some 70 percent of all of the county’s SEIU employees would remain eligible for a 4 percent merit pay raise, county officials acknowledged today.

So while the 2 percent wage reduction will save about $8.3 million, officials expect that savings to be reduced greatly by merit pay increases, the amount of which is not yet determined.

The contract does not cover SEIU employees at University Medical Center, who number about 4,000. It covers about 5,400 other county workers. County officials are still at work negotiating with the SEIU over the UMC contract.

Even so, County Manager Don Burnette said he’s glad the county is close to resolving this contract, because it now has to jump right into negotiations with the SEIU for the next contract.

"We're glad to reach a tentative agreement on the wage concession," he said. "This will help relieve pressure on the county's strained budget."

The tentative agreement, according to an e-mail from George Stevens, Clark County's chief financial officer, includes:

* 2 percent pay reductions for SEIU employees, not including UMC.

* Would exclude sick-leave hours from the definition of time worked, which would alleviate some overtime payments.

* Would increase payment of health insurance by new employees to 10 percent of the total premium. Employees now pay various percentages based on the category of coverage.

The deal still needs ratification by SEIU members. If they approve it, Stevens said it could come before county commissioners for a ratification vote April 4.

The contract has been in negotiation for about a year. It comes shortly after county management put out a notice to all departments to find 9 percent cuts in their budgets.

County managers for three years have dealt with of declining property and sales tax revenues. The county also expects to take a $125 million hit over the next two years due to state government taking more tax dollars and pushing more services onto the county’s back.

The 9 percent cuts were to save the county about $40 million and cost about 400 people their jobs. Stevens said Monday he expected the new deal to save about 100 of those jobs.