Jimmie Starr: Why I Voted to Authorize a Kern County Unfair Labor Practice Strike
I work in the Kern County Behavioral Health Department where I was hired in June of 2016. I joined with 91% of my union co-workers and voted to reject Kern County’s “Last, Best, and Final Offer” to SEIU employees because accepting it would be bad for county employees and the public we serve.
Here’s why:
Like departments across the county, the Behavorial Health Department is very short staffed. The most recently reported vacancy rate for my department was nearly 20% That’s 1 out of 5 positions unfilled. What that means is that employees are under tremendous stress and pressure to “cut corners” to get the job done. For the public, it means that if you or a loved one needs behavioral health services, it’s likely your care will be delayed, and that they may not get the attention they deserve, especially during a public health crisis that has caused tremendous hardship on members of our community.
It’s no secret that the pandemic has driven the need for behavioral health care to record highs. The truth is our inadequate ability to provide care could be a contributing factor to the alarming rise in homelessness and domestic violence. And the county’s proposal would make this situation worse – by telling 934 employees across the county that the raises that they were promised when they were hired – income that they were counting on – are now going to be reduced – in violation of the policy written in the Official Employee Handbook. What will this mean? Well, it will certainly undermine morale – but more than that – it will lead to hundreds of those people deciding they’ve had enough and joining the exodus of quality employees from Kern County.
In my department there are dozens of behavioral health workers in the position I just described; the county’s final offer would only make worse our already challenged ability to retain and recruit enough staff to meet our community’s needs. Many workers would be better off under the old contract – I’m one of them. Under the county’s final offer, by spring of 2024, I’d be earning $123.20 less a month than what I was promised when I took this position. I voted NO. But it wasn’t just me and others in my situation. All county employees know that the vacancy rates and constant turnover are making Kern County a terrible place to work and that the vacancy situation will only get worse if we accept this.
It’s unfortunate that Kern County management provided the Californian with misinformation about the County’s offer. I’m referring to the statement that “For employees in the midst of step increases, the county proposed between a 9.5 percent and 13.7 percent base salary increase.” Not true. Hundreds of workers hired in 2020 will actually receive only 8.8% over the life of the contract – A far cry from the 15% they were promised in scheduled increases when they were hired. We’re not sure where the 9.5% number comes from, but we’ve seen other documents where the County is counting raises that they say will come on July 1, 2024 (after this contract expires) as part of the “package.” Is it smart to plan around something that’s promised if it’s not in a contract? Not when you are dealing this Board of Supervisors. We’ve learned the hard way.
Our bargaining committee has made sensible proposals that would resolve these issues so everyone can move forward and put Kern County on a path to being a high-quality employer with high quality public services. We note that the County is offering the Deputy Sheriff’s a package under which no one is being required to give up future wage increases. I’m sure that approach will help the turnover problem in that group – this is the approach needed for all county workers.
About the Author:
Jimmie Starr is a Technical Support Specialist in the Kern County Behavioral Health Department. He is a Member of SEIU Local 521 and have been employed with the County of Kern since 2016.