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By Tim Burke
City of Hemet
SEIU members in the city of Hemet stepped up to the plate and helped residents by keeping the city running without reducing services. For that, we can all be proud.
Our new contract includes:
- A 5% salary reduction, either through furloughs or donation for the year
- An additional 2% PERS contribution that sunsets December 2011
- An additional 3% furlough for employees in facilities that will be closed during the holidays.
Our contract underscores the economic reality we are all in. The city was proposing a 13-20+ percent reduction that it tried to impose on SEIU members, but through our negotiations we arrived at a much better resolution that meets the needs of workers and the city.
The City has been struggling with more than a $5 million shortfall in the general fund and had requested that all city employees contribute approximately $3.3 million to close it. But the majority of SEIU employees in Hemet are not paid out of the general fund. Thus the challenge was how to help out the general fund.
Our resolution shares the pain in these tough times while easing the stress on the general fund. That means all employees, even those not initially furloughed, will take a cut equal to 5 percent of their yearly salary to go directly into the general fund. This action helps the City and its citizens by not reducing the services provided.
Furloughs already in place affect facility shutdowns and closures at City Hall, Covell Building, the Senior Center and the Library. Employees at facilities that the city intends to close during the holiday season will be furloughed an additional 3 percent.
One of my greatest concerns is that our employers are using the mantra that “public employees have lavish pensions.” We know that’s not true. The retirement issue is not going to go away. I believe it will only escalate.
Many employees got into public service in order to have a secure retirement in the future, and now our employers are trying to take that away. The retirement system that many of us have in place is not flawed, despite what many of our elected officials and employers would want the public to believe. We must educate the public and our members to the truth. When the economy was good and our retirement system was self-funded, elected leaders did not put money aside when they didn’t have to pay into it. Now that the economy is in the sad shape it is in, there is a shortfall that they want to say is because of us and our “lavish” pensions, not because they didn’t plan ahead.
Next year’s economic projections are not looking much better, if not worse. Be prepared, our retirements and our futures are at risk.
Don’t get left behind. Join me at the SEIU 721 Inland Area Oct. 26 General Membership Meeting where will discuss this and how to get ahead.