California’s Largest State Worker Union Seals Deal With Schwarzenegger
On Tuesday, Service Employees International Union Local 1000 announced that its members had ratified a labor agreement expected to reduce state spending by about $400 million this year, the Sacramento Bee reports.
California's largest state worker union said that about 76% of its members agreed to the deal with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) administration. The agreement takes effect immediately and expires July 1, 2013 (Ortiz, Sacramento Bee, 11/10).
SEIU Local 1000 represents more than 95,000 state employees, including nurses and other health care workers (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 11/9).
Contract Details
SEIU Local 1000's new contract with the state includes:
- A 3% increase in employees' retirement contributions;
- A 3% increase in the high-end of employee salary ranges;
- A guarantee that the state will not cut workers' pay to the federal minimum wage;
- A guarantee that the state will not impose furloughs for the next 12 months; and
- One unpaid day off monthly for the next year, which translates to a 4.62% pay reduction (Koren, San Bernardino County Sun, 11/9).
The contract also raises the retirement age for new employees from 55 to 60. Certain employees who work with inmates or at state medical institutions still would be eligible to retire at age 55, but would receive lower benefits than those retiring at age 60 (Young, AP/Ventura County Star, 11/9).
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