Dozens of SEIU 721 social worker members in Santa Maria came out to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting to stand up for child safety. They urged the Board to do a better job providing social worker retention.
What’s Going On?
Santa Barbara County members were promised a pay equity study for social workers and CES workers. The study shows that members in Santa Barbara County are significantly below market. This huge disparity is affecting employee retention.
SEIU 721 Tri-Counties Regional Director Rachel Flores started off the comments to the Board, mentioning the equity study. Then, social worker members Kim Gray and Edwin Weaver shared how child safety is being impacted by high workloads and the County’s inability to retain or hire workers.
“For the past year and a half I have watched many of my experienced and knowledgeable co-workers leave the County of Santa Barbara. It was not because they lost their passion for keeping kids safe. Rather, it became necessary to do what they needed to do for their own children and families by taking better opportunities elsewhere.”
-Kim Gray, SEIU 721 member, Social Worker for Santa Barbara County in Santa Maria
Related News Links:
- Supervisors hear wage protests (Santa Barbara News-Press) Requires login account
- Home care, service workers take contract requests to
supervisors (Santa Maria Sun)