Attention LA County and LA Superior Court employees who participate in the Horizons loan program:

The new eHR payroll system will impact your Horizons loan paycheck deduction and take-home pay. Horizons participants with outstanding loans will need to elect whether to have their payroll deductions deducted on a semi-monthly basis or on a monthly basis. Please review the estimated payment amount options listed in your personalized Loan Payment Election Form and mail your completed election form to Great-West, Horizons plan administrator. Your completed form must be received by April 20, 2010.

Ventura County members voted overwhelmingly (85%) to approve the tentative agreement that was reached with the assistance of the State Mediation and Conciliation Service after nearly nine months of negotiations. Ventura County members also voted to continue the Tier II COLA with a closer vote of 60% voting to continue.

Ventura County's original proposal began with over $17 million in cuts from workers which would have had a devastating impact on household budgets and impacted the County's economic recovery.  The County's final proposal contained a 3% shift for retirement contributions from the employer back to the worker which is the equivalent of $2.2 million in savings to the County's general fund. 

Hundreds of SEIU 721 members participated during these negotiations by attending membership meetings, rallies at the Board of Supervisors meetings and collecting petitions. On Dec. 15 2009, the Board of Supervisors announced that all management and non-represented workers would take the same retirement shifts as those proposed to SEIU 721 with the plan that all County workers would be contributing 3% more towards their retirement.

"Throughout these negotiations, workers demanded that all County workers including management share in the sacrifice and for the first time management will start contributing to their retirement.  We will continue to hold the County accountable to their promise of a shared sacrifice from all workers" said Perry Morefield, Ventura County Mental Health Associate and 2009/2010 Bargaining Chair. 

Other contract highlights include:
• A countywide Labor/Management Committee that will give workers the opportunity to help streamline services and preserve services.
• A joint County/SEIU Labor Management Retirement Review Committee to look at responsible pension funding solutions for all taxpayers in Ventura County.  

These two committees are critical so that Ventura County members won't have the same vulnerabilities in future negotiations.  The contract will expire on Sept. 30, 2010. 

"Very soon, Ventura County members will have the opportunity to choose their next bargaining committee and prepare to begin another round of negotiations. Hopefully members will continue to stay involved as we stand up for public services,"  said Letty Alvarez, Ventura County Community Services Coordinator and 2009/2010 Bargaining Team member.

Latest Proposal Looks at Long-Term Solutions

After holding two membership meetings and getting feedback from the membership, the Ventura County Bargaining Committee submitted a counter-proposal to the County's "last best" proposal on Jan. 8.  Previously, the County stated it would not accept a counterproposal from SEIU and had given an arbitrary deadline of Jan. 5 for acceptance of their proposal or they would declare impasse and request a state mediator. 

  "The County has declared impasse but we believe there are only a few outstanding issues and hopefully they can be resolved through mediation because it is critical that we address long term issues now instead of following the County's lead," said Perry Morefield, Ventura County Mental Health Associate and Bargaining Committee Chair.

SEIU 721's Current Proposal Highlights:

• Helping the County meet its funding retirement obligations in 2010.
• Protect working people and family budgets with no additional costs to the County by giving workers the option of collapsing the 2 Tier COLA and return the 2.63 percent back into worker salaries to offset the shift in pension costs.
• Help the County streamline services and preserve services through a countywide Labor/Management Committee.
• Work together along with pension experts on responsible pension funding solutions for all taxpayers in Ventura County. 

SEIU 721's proposals to work with the County and other unions on long-term pension solutions is fiscally prudent and the countywide Labor/Management committee will also help Ventura taxpayers in the long run. 

To view the impact of this proposal,please have a current Ventura County paystub and click here:    Calculator for Impact on Biweekly Net Pay Jan 2010 proposal.xls

Looking Back:
After seven months of negotiations, it is difficult to remember what Ventura members have achieved during bargaining.  But here are few highlights:

• SEIU 721 members convinced Ventura County that their original proposal to take $17 million from workers to get $2.2 million to the general fund was a very flawed plan because it would not just harm workers but greatly impact other revenue streams to the County.
• Members demonstrated at Board of Supervisor meetings that the sacrifice must be shared by all including management and we accomplished that. 
• Members produced cost saving ideas, revenue suggestions that would help the County and all taxpayers while preserving valuable services and we will continue pursuing opportunities for their implementation.  
   

Next Steps:
Five worksite meetings have been scheduled throughout Ventura County the week of Jan. 11, 2010 to learn more about the proposal and long-term plans.  Please plan to attend one.

VCMC/small cafeteria
3291 Loma Vista Rd in Ventura
Monday, Jan. 11 at 12 Noon
 
Simi Valley Senior Center
2929 Tapo Canyon Rd in Simi Valley
Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 6:00 p.m.
 
Public Works - Saticoy Yard/Conference Room
11251-B Riverbank Dr in Ventura
Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 5:00 p.m.
 
Hall of Administration/Courtyard
Wednesday, Jan. 13 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
 
Vanguard Building/Sunrise Room
1400 Vanguard in Oxnard
Thursday, Jan. 14 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The Secure Retirement Committee is very proud that our Chair, Herman Santos (Vice-Chair of LACERA's Board of Investments), has been selected by the Harvard School of Law to represent Harvard Law and the United States in Brussels, Belgium in December of this year. He will speak at a conference sponsored by the European Trade Union Institute,  the Global Union Committee of Workers' Capital and others.
 
Herman will speak on the role of public pension funds in driving productive assets in the real economy of the U.S., and will also discuss how unions and union members work with union friendly trustees to promote corporate governance and regulatory reform advocacy.
 
According to Harvard Law, SEIU Local 721's Secure Retirement Program is unique for unions in the U.S., and they've requested 100 copies of our Program's brochure to be shipped to Brussels.
 
Meetings of the Secure Retirement Committee are held every 4th Tuesday of the month at the Virgil office. Dinner is served at 5:30 (although you must RSVP) and the meetings start promptly at 6 PM.  Please call Mark Klein at (213) 368-8601 to RSVP.

Why is this CalPERS election important to your retirement security?

Media across the state has reported that ...
• CalPERS sustained large losses during the market crash, burdening taxpayers.
• Questions about CalPERS' credibility fuel attacks on our pensions.
• CalPERS paid over $70 million to an ex-Board member now in business for himself.

Cathy Hackett's opponent shrugged off this behavior in media comments recently, implying that a former trustee using his influence with CalPERS to help his client was no big deal.

"That kind of business-as-usual attitude puts our pensions at risk. Cathy Hackett has the experience, strength and integrity to protect our pensions and reform CalPERS," said Bill Moe, an RN at the Riverside County Regional Medical Center.

 

How to Vote

Your CalPERS ballot was mailed to your home November 9. Vote for Cathy and return your ballot right away.

Ballots are due by December 4. Call CalPERS at (800) 794-2297 for a replacement ballot.

Almost 200 Ventura County members rallied before the Ventura County Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept. 15.  SEIU members attended the meeting to support their co-workers and bargaining committee as they addressed the Board about the proposed cuts, concerns about services and the need for transparency from the County.

Perry Morefield, Becky Lindor, Ed Alamillo, Jan Trembly-Rail and Arnulfo Carbajal all addressed the Board.   As each worker spoke about the need for more transparency, trust, partnership and commitment between SEIU and the County, SEIU members in the audience held up signs of support as each of them spoke. 

"Workers understand there may need to be changes with pension funding but at this time  with so much still unknown, SEIU requests that the County meets with all impacted workers early next year for possible solution IF there is a need" said Perry Morefield, Mental Health Associate and Bargaining Chair.

 "I am here because I care about the county. I care about the clients I serve. I care about the services I provide. I want the county to care about us"  said Estela Duran, Social Worker Adult Services, HSA.

 

"I am here to support our bargaining team. These decisions will affect me and future workers"  said Sonia Sosa, Case Aid II, HSA  and her 2-year-old daughter Bryannah.

 

"We want people to understand that we are the frontline workers in this county. We assist the public, we process their requests from records to investigative. We are the worker bees for this County" said Glenda Waldrop, Office Assistant IV, Sheriff's Dept. 

(L-R  Megan Tobey, Glenda Waldrop, Anna Margott, Mary  McConville, and Amanda Carr Sheriff's dept)

 

The Ventura County contract expires on Sept. 30.

 

Next Steps
Attend and RSVP for Sept. 24 membership meeting.

Show support for services and negotiations and wear purple on Thursdays and Fridays depending on your dept.

160 Ventura County members attended the first bargaining update meeting to hear about the County's proposal for service cuts. They include office closures during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, when family need can spike and social services are in demand.

"The County's proposed cuts would not only harm people who needed the services, but wouldn't produce real savings for the County."
- Carolyn Consoli, Contract Action Team Member and Community Service Worker III, Public Health

Public and private employers are using the economic meltdown to reduce pensions, wages, and benefits. Cathy Hackett is ready to face these challenges on the CalPERS board.

This September, elect someone who knows how to win for working families.

Get access to pension systems by employer, public pension advocacy organizations and online pension information after the jump.

We have all heard President Obama state that we are facing the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. But how did we get in this fix? How bad is it really? And how an we get out? Read the following document.

Economic Crisis (July 2009 Update).pdf