SEIU Fights for Fewer Wage Concessions

Around 100 members from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) attended Monday night’s city council meeting to protest the wage concessions made by the city to decrease the budget deficit.

SEIU members said they understood that in tough budget times, cuts to employees’ wages and benefits were to be expected. City Council set a goal of reducing benefits and salaries by $5.6 million over the next three years, according to Redwood City spokesperson Malcolm Smith.

However, SEIU members argued that the city has a large reserve of $20 million, which was meant to support employees and the city during tough times.

“We just want a fair contract,” said Jason Bergjourd, member of the SEIU negotiating committee. The SEIU represents several employees from library staff to custodians to fleet service management, with over 254 members in Redwood City. “They want us to pay for 20 percent of our medical insurance, with forced days off and to forfeit sick leave.”

Specific concessions have not been finalized, Smith said, but may include:

• Employees paying up to 10 percent of basic medical premiums
• Elimination of or reduction in the city’s contributions to medical spending accounts
• Two-tier pension formulas for new hires
• A new basis for retirement calculation
• All employees taking over a significant percentage of the city’s contributions to CalPERS, the California Public Employees' Retirement System

“The city has met with SEIU representatives a total of 11 times during this negotiation, and SEIU has not agreed to any concessions or countered any of the city’s proposals,” Smith wrote in an email. “We’re disappointed to have not achieved any concession agreement to date with SEIU, as we have been able to do with Police Sergeants’ Association, Police Officers’ Association, and the Executive Management Team.

But the wage cuts and concessions the SEIU reported did not match the figures the city reported. Interim City Manager Bob Bell said that the SEIU’s reported $9,100 wages and benefits cut for every employee was incorrect because not every employee made the same amount.

Multiple SEIU members spoke in front of the City Council to share their personal stories of how cuts would affect them. One woman said she was a single grandmother who would have to support her granddaughter on an “unlivable wage.” Another woman said she would not be able to co-pay for a series of surgeries she underwent because of the expected 10 to 20 percent contribution towards health care.

“Members are losing homes,” Bergjourd said. “And some of these people are going to have to go on welfare.”

“We’re not trying to balance the budget on the backs of the SEIU,” Vice Mayor Alicia Aguirre said.

The Executive Management team had agreed to cut even larger wage percentages from their salaries, Bell said.

However, as one SEIU member noted, several executives are making far more money than SEIU employees and can afford larger cuts.

“This is very frustrating for everyone,” said Mayor Jeff Ira. “So we clearly have to go back to the drawing table.”

Final numbers are still being negotiated.

Photos of the city council meeting are available in an album on our Facebook Page.