Tag: labor

By Patricia Cohen, @nytimes New claims for unemployment fell last week, the government reported Thursday, the latest sign that the labor market’s recovery, however slow...

The Gilroy Unified School District late Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 18, announced it had reached a tentative agreement with the Gilroy Teachers Association on a...

Santa Clara County and its employees represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 521 announced Friday they have reached a tentative, two-year employment agreement that will require the union members to pick up more of the cost of their health and retirement benefits, and also gives them a raise, according to County staff.The key to the preceding negotiations for the new agreement was both the County and its largest union workforce are dedicated to one fundamental principle, according to County staff: “Quality public services come first.”“We value the contributions of County employees,” County Executive Jeffrey Smith said. “This contract includes a modest wage increase, and now employees will be sharing in the cost of health premiums and contributing toward the growing cost of retiree health benefits.”An SEIU Local 521 member who served on the union’s negotiating team said the tentative agreement is an “affirmation that we will continue to put community first.”“We believe we’ve reached a fair agreement that protects vital front-line public services, and we look forward to continuing to work with the County on the challenge of recruiting and retaining a cutting-edge workforce,” said the SEIU member, Karen Smit, a respiratory care practitioner. Highlights of the two-year agreement, according to County staff, include:- Workers will increase their contributions toward retiree health care costs $10 per pay period, or $260 annually in order to strengthen the plan’s sustainability. This contribution will bring in about $2.1 million annually. - New workers will have to work for a minimum of 15 years to qualify for retiree health benefits. Under the previous agreement, those hired would have had to work 10 years to be eligible for the benefit. - To prepare for federal health care reform, the County will collaborate with SEIU 521 to form “unit-based teams” across the County’s Health & Hospital System, ensuring front-line workers have direct input on the improvements that affect patient care. - Employees will share in the cost of health premiums.- To address recruitment and retention concerns, the two lowest steps of union members’ salary schedule will be removed. This will help the County “become competitive in developing a cutting-edge workforce.” - Union members will receive a 5 percent overall wage increase during the agreement - a 2 percent increase in the first year and 3 percent the second year. “We came into negotiations focused on preserving and enhancing quality public services,” said wRen Bradley, chapter president of SEIU Local 521 Santa Clara County. “We knew the only way we could keep Santa Clara County strong was to ensure County services did not suffer. We will continue to do everything we can to develop a cutting-edge workforce, especially as we implement the Affordable Care Act.”SEIU Local 521 represents about 11,000 County employees, according to the union’s website. The tentative agreement will be presented to the five-member County Board of Supervisors for approval Sept. 10.  

Santa Clara County staff proposed a $4.6 billion county budget for fiscal year 2014 last week that will rely on outside funding sources, new voter-approved revenues and public union concessions in order to close a $67 million shortfall, County staff said. 

An eighth-cent sales tax increase would make Santa Clara County a more expensive place to shop if voters OK a proposed tax hike on the Nov. 6 ballot. But it’s also the only way the county would get funds directly from local sales tax revenue, which currently goes straight to state coffers.

The Comcast call center in Morgan Hill announced today they are closing their doors Nov. 30, leaving hundreds jobless. 

Mi Pueblo Foods, the San Jose-based Hispanic grocery store chain with a location on First Street in Gilroy, recently began cross-checking the legal immigration status of new hires at the request of the federal government, invoking attacks from a local labor union.

The Bay Area’s biggest Latino grocery chain is trying to avert a threatened boycott after it began checking the immigration status of all its new hires through a federal work-verification program.

The County of Santa Clara recently announced its decision to adopt Microsoft Cloud Solution for 15,000 of its employees.

The City of Gilroy brings on a new hire from the City of San Jose planning department to take on the role of Development Center Manager, a newly created position that largely deals with fostering development within the city.