SEIU votes to approve new contract, avoiding strike

Sam Morgen, The Bakersfield Californian
·2 min read

Dec. 7—Members of Kern County government's largest union have voted to approve a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract. The vote, which was announced Monday, allows the county to avoid an unfair labor practice strike, which the union had authorized in October.

"We are extremely proud to have stood resilient throughout these negotiations," Tiffany

Sagbohan, Service Employees International Local 521 vice president, said in a news release. "As a result, we have an agreement that will improve retention by increasing compensation for every county worker represented by SEIU."

The union represents 5,097 employees, according to the county's latest tally, although the county has said only 46 percent are dues-paying members. SEIU members work in nearly every part of the county government, and the possibility of a work stoppage could have had significant impacts on county business.

In October, the union overwhelmingly voted to reject the county's "last, best and final" offer for a new contract. At the time, union leadership said the contract failed to address high turnover and vacancy rates they claimed were rampant throughout county departments.

"There still is serious work to be done to address ongoing challenges facing our workforce, but we strongly believe this is an important step towards meeting the critical recovery needs of our community and workers," Sagbohan said. "These negotiations demonstrated the resolve of county workers' fight for accountability and change."

The Kern County Administrative Office declined to comment on agreement ratification. SEIU also declined to reveal the vote total.

The differences between the county's last offer and the tentative agreement approved by the union were unclear on Tuesday. According to the news release, the new contract includes cost-of-living wage increases, a new wage scale system, and a clause that allows issues in the contract to be revisited prior to the contract's end date.

"This fight was about justice for all workers," SEIU Local 521 Vice President Regional Vice President Sonja Bennett said in the release. "Frontline county workers of SEIU 521 demonstrated that when working people come together, we can build a brighter future for our communities, our co-workers, and our families."

The Board of Supervisors are set to approve the new contract on Tuesday.

You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You may also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.