Lea este articulo en español aqui.
According to Henie Ring, the county Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, a May news release claiming a union contract agreement is false.
“We do not have a final agreement,” Ring said. “We’re still in the negotiation process.”
The SEIU news release, published on BenitoLink and on the union local’s website on May 10, states that negotiations between the San Benito County Board of Supervisors and SEIU In-home supportive services (IHSS) Local 2015 members were successful.
“San Benito County IHSS members of SEIU Local 2015, the nation’s largest long-term care union and California’s largest labor union representing nearly 470,000 nursing home workers and home care providers reached a tentative agreement this month, successfully concluding negotiations with the San Benito County Board of Supervisors by putting essential caregivers in the region on a path to a $1.65 per hour wage increase,” the release said.
Following the state’s minimum wage increase, an $.80 supplement wage would be added, placing SEIU members $2.45 above the state’s minimum wage for the next three years.
County Principal Administrative Analyst Dulce Alonso told BenitoLink that the county has not approved any contracts with the SEIU IHSS unit. Ring added that the county is still working on the agreement.
The tentative agreement would raise caregiver wages from $16.80 to $18.45 an hour for the next three years.
Christopher Baiza, a spokesperson for SEIU, conceded that the contract isn’t final but is in the ratification process.
“The deputy is right, we don’t have a final agreement,” Baiza said. “We have a tentative agreement” that was “agreed upon during the last negotiations with the two parties.”
The contract will be delivered to the board of supervisors on June 18, following a vote by the union’s rank and file members, Baiza said.
“We’re keeping our hopes up to finalize this agreement,” he said.
Arnulfo De La Cruz, president of SEIU Local 2015, said “this is a huge victory for our statewide efforts to increase wages for IHSS care providers in California,” according to the press release.
There are currently 753 SEIU IHSS members in the county providing long-term care, according to Baiza.
About 11,000 people turn 65 every day in the U.S., the release states. In San Benito County, 14% of the population is 65 and over, according to 2022 Census data.
“As this number of older adults and people with disabilities who require in-home care continues to grow in California, this marks a victory for folks in San Benito County to continue to attract more care providers to this workforce (and retain them),” the release reads.
If approved by the board, the contract will not be immediately effective, Baiza said, adding that IHSS workers in the county will need to wait two to three months after the approval to receive raises.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.
