Kern County: Respect Us, Protect Us, Care For Us
Negotiations Update – February 5, 2021: County Mid-year Budget Review Shows Projected $21 Million Dollar Surplus
LOOK AT THE EMAIL BELOW FROM THE OFFICE OF KERN BOARD OF SUPERVISOR AND CHAIRMAN PHILLIP PETERS TO OUR UNION REGARDING FURLOUGHS. IT SURE LOOKS LIKE OUR CAMPAIGN IS WORKING!
We got further confirmation last night from CAO Alsop’s report that the County will not adopt their contingency plan at this moment and are projecting a surplus of $21 million dollars. This was not done overnight or in a single day, but together, we have shown what is possible when we take action and fight for each other collectively.
See the complete mid-year budget report here – page 9-10
Make no mistake: this was in no way any coincidence. It was a direct result of the many actions taken by Kern County workers and other members of our community. Kern County residents have made it clear that they stand with essential workers and know how critical we are to our recovery! From hundreds of direct emails and phone calls to the board, our recent caravan through downtown Bakersfield, to our mental health co-workers’ video to the series of headlines published across multiple Kern media outlets, this is Kern County SEIU 521 members united at work!
MAKING THE FUTURE WE WANT A REALITY
As part of our update last week, we outlined why we cannot return to Kern County as normal. Normal has not worked for us, our families and those we serve. A new normal for Kern County workers like us looks like this victory to stop furloughs. It looks like securing pay increases we have not seen in over a decade. And it’s clear they have the money based on this report.
Join us to make this new normal possible for all of us, here is what you can do today! (Click a link to get started):
MISSED THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF KERN COUNTY WORKERS RISING UP?
This week, our sister Jeanine Adams from the Assessor’s Office penned a Community Voices Opinion piece in the Bakersfield California titled: Setting the Record Straight on Furloughs, read it here.
ICYMI: See additional media coverage below:
Something is brewing in Kern County, and it’s led by workers like you and us who build this community.
Stay safe, stay united (at a distance)!
Negotiations Update – November 30, 2020
On November 30th, Kern County management confirmed that the Board of Supervisors have a plan to furlough you and your coworkers one day every month starting in February of 2021 and continuing through June 2021. That’s a total of 5 days lost pay – 40 hours for full time employees.
Click here to calculate how much the proposed furloughs would impact your pay
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DOES NOT NEED TO DO THIS. THEY HAVE FAR MORE FUNDS IN THE RESERVES THAN THEY WILL SAVE WITH THEIR FURLOUGH PLAN!
HERE ARE THE FACTS:
- County Management says furloughs will save $1.67 Million
- Kern County reports that it had over $67 Million in General Fund unassigned reserves by the end of June 2020 (Kern Co. FY 20-21 August Recommended Budget Page 4) to use at their discretion
- Management insists on furloughing employees one day a month, from February – June, rather than using a small portion of its reserve to maintain staffing levels and averting an additional financial burden on county workers.
- County has an excess of $10 million in healthcare reserves they could tap into to avoid furloughs but choose not to.
We will continue to update you as information becomes available.
In solidarity,
Your Kern County Bargaining Team:
Susan Price, Veronica Vazquez, Tiffany Sagbohan, Michael Saltz, Juan Gonzalez, Debra McCalahan, Karen Bussard, Phill Kroll, Leticia Hernandez, Andre Taylor, Jim Starr & Sonja Bennett