Press Release: Riverside County Rejects Cost-Saving Measures in Favor of Reducing Services for Residents
Contract Negotiations with More than 6,000 Public Service Workers Moves to Impasse
Riverside - After months of negotiations aimed at protecting public services in Riverside County during the economic downturn, county management rejected millions of dollars in cost-saving solutions in favor of implementing a contract proposal on employees that will lead to drastic reductions in services.
The economic reality in Riverside County was central to employees' recommendations throughout contract negotiations.
More than 6,000 County employees, who have been negotiating their new union contract since March, held their first-ever "Efficiency Summit" and identified more than $9 million in cost savings on five different items and also identified 80 other issues that could also produce millions of dollars of savings to taxpayers.
SEIU members are ready to move to accept more than a month without pay in the form of furloughs in order to help the county through the economic downturn and keep services available to residents.
"We came to negotiations with an open mind and the goal of maintaining services while helping close the deficit," said SEIU 721 bargaining team member Catherine Eide Nelson. "We don't understand why the county rejected this approach."
Instead of reaching a compromise, County management insists on an unlimited number of furlough days with a minimum of 208 hours between August 13, 2009 and June 30, 2010, without pay, staggering wage cuts - equivalent to more than 10 percent for workers - and to continue its practice of forcing employees to work without payment.
This proposal will likely exacerbate the foreclosure crisis in Riverside County, removing hardworking public servants out of their homes. County management's proposal will take more than $50 million out of the local economy further raising the misery scale in an already troubled county.
"We expected leadership from our elected officials to guide this county in the right direction," said bargaining team member Mark Grays. "Instead, they are driving families into foreclosure, cutting public services and exacerbating the impacts of the financial crisis."
Monday afternoon, after a brief meeting, county managers declared impasse, without negotiation. The County's negotiator said that they would institute their proposal on July 30. SEIU 721 is the only union with open negotiations where the county has imposed implementation.
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Supporting Documents:
Riverside County official Letter of Implementation: View Here
115-page Memorandum of Understanding: View Here
MOU Outline: View here
Contact: Tracie Morales, SEIU 721
951-520-7039
951-686-7372
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