Shasta County counters union offer; first signatures to recall Supervisor Crye collected

After more than two weeks of picketing, members of Shasta County’s largest union returned to work Wednesday, still without a contract.

But there has been some movement in negotiations, which have been at an impasse.

Steve Allen, business manager for UPEC Local 792, announced at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting that the union had made a new offer that he said focuses more on medical insurance “than arguing over pay.”

Union members have said the 7% raise over three years that the county offered is a net pay cut, after factoring in the rising cost of medical insurance.

Supervisors took the union's offer into closed session after the public portion of Tuesday’s meeting and they came out of closed session to report they had made a counteroffer. The vote was 4-1 to make a counteroffer. County Counsel James Ross did not breakdown the vote when he announced the action.

That announcement capped a board meeting that stretched about six hours, an evening that started with a petition-signing event hosted outside the board chamber by residents attempting to recall District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye.

In between, supervisors unanimously approved David Rickert as the county’s new chief executive officer. Rickert is no relation to Supervisor Mary Rickert.

Here’s a rundown of Tuesday’s meeting.

‘I’ve have not received it’

Before going into closed session to discuss the UPEC contract dispute, the board voted 3-2 not to form an ad-hoc committee that would include two supervisors to participate in labor negotiations. Supervisors Patrick Jones, Mary Rickert and Tim Garman voted in the majority.

Reached Wednesday morning by phone, UPEC business manager Allen told the Record Searchlight that he had not seen the county’s proposal that was announced out of closed session.

“I have not received it,” Allen said. “I’m glad that the closed session resulted in a change of position, but until we see what it is, we don’t know if it’s going to settle the contract dispute.”

UPEC members started a two-week strike May 1 and then voted last week to extend it until Tuesday.

That didn’t seem to sit well with District 4 Supervisor Jones, who made his feelings known to Allen during the meeting.

During the strike, a large inflatable rat named “RATtrick Jones” was used as a prop along Court Street as union members picketed.

More: Shasta County's largest union votes to go on two-week strike

Jones reminded Allen that the union official called him last week and asked that the UPEC issue be added to Tuesday’s closed-session agenda.

“And in that conversation, you said that you would ask the members that you might be able to get the strike to end a day or two early, you did remember that as well?” Jones said.

Allen confirmed that and added that he brought that to the union members and the proposal to end the strike early “didn’t go far.”

“The members who participated, and we had a huge participation, thought it was a very bad idea,” he added. “And in fact, that led to a discussion of extending the strike.”

“The vote was to extend it when we made a good-faith gesture to rediscuss this in closed session,” Jones countered.

Allen said that’s one way to look at it, but explained that the members didn’t see a result yet and they didn’t know if talking about the issue in closed session would result in a settlement.

He went on to implore supervisors to settle the dispute before Jones thanked him twice. When Allen didn’t stop talking, Jones instructed Allen’s microphone be turned off.

On Wednesday, Allen didn’t have hard feelings about his exchange with Jones and said he didn’t think the supervisor was accusing him of bargaining in bad faith.

“I think he was just kind of wrestling with the process and it’s not unusual to me that people don’t understand the process,” Allen said.

Meanwhile, Allen does not know when he will bring the county’s counteroffer to union members.

“If we don’t get a settlement, the members will consider a second strike,” he said.

Recall supporters collect about 100 signatures

Supervisor Crye contends that the attempt to recall him is being driven by a small group of far-left activists who want Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint his replacement should he be recalled.

A new state law that went into effect in January gives the governor’s office the job of selecting his replacement until the next election, which could happen March 5, 2024, or Nov. 5, 2024.

One of the first residents to sign the recall petition before Tuesday’s meeting was Redding businessman Bill Evanhoe, who said he is a Republican.

Crye is “wasting over a million dollars of money, my tax money, for a system that probably lends itself to error more than the one they’re getting rid of,” said Evanhoe, a senior partner with the accounting firm Evanhoe Kellogg & Co.

Recall supporters have lambasted Crye for his decision to terminate Shasta County’s contract with Dominion Voting Systems and return to hand counting all votes, a process that still hasn’t been approved by the California Secretary of State.

Jones, Crye and Supervisor Chris Kelstrom voted to ditch Dominion.

Susanne Baremore, of the Committee to Recall Kevin Crye, said they had collected nearly 100 signatures by the end of Tuesday’s meeting.

Retired Shasta County Superintendent of Schools Charlie Menoher also was one of the first people to sign the petition on Tuesday.

“Shasta County deserves better. We have so many issues, so many critical needs and (he’s) taking on a voting system that was fair. It’s a travesty. We can do better than that,” Menoher said.

Menoher said he was a Republican but now is registered as no party preference.

Some at Tuesday's meeting spoke in support of Crye.

Robert Sid said it's time for the county to focus on the real issues, such as how the county will fund construction of a new jail.

"We don't want Gov. Newsom to appoint a replacement for Kevin," Sid said.

Supporters will need at least 4,151 signatures from registered voters in District 1, which encompasses much of the city of Redding, to put the recall on the Nov. 7 ballot. People who sign the petition must live in District 1.

New CEO gets three-year contract

Supervisors approved a three-year contract for David Rickert, the chief financial officer in Winnebago County, Illinois.

Rickert’s annual salary will be $258,600 and he is expected to start May 30.

His appointment ends a nearly year-long saga that galvanized the community before playing out in dramatic fashion the last couple of months.

Supervisors on April 6 rescinded the CEO job offer to Chriss Street and then announced they had offered the job to another candidate.

Supervisors did not say why the offer to Street was taken off the table, but it came nine days after they announced they were waiting for Street to respond to a background report that was done on him.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County counters union offer; signatures to recall Crye collected