BROADCASTS.com

b'July 14, 2022 \\u2014 The Board of Supervisors\\u2019 chambers filled to overflowing at Tuesday\\u2019s meeting, with county union workers demanding better pay and an end to staffing shortages as inflation climbs. Regional union reps weighed in, too, saying they were dismayed at the county\\u2019s offer of a 0% cost of living allowance.\\nWorkers had filed out, chanting, \\u201cwe\\u2019ll be back,\\u201d by the time supervisors decided to have a study session on what it would take to craft a living wage ordinance.\\n\\nThe first speaker of the day was Vince Hawkins, a health inspector who spoke about how many of his colleagues have been lured elsewhere by better pay. Purple-clad workers rose silently from seats marked \\u201cUnavailable\\u201d and raised their signs as he spoke. \\u201cOn any given day, I could be the only health inspector to respond to complaints or inspections for food facilities or recreational water facilities or well and small water systems, body art facilities, things like that,\\u201d he said; when \\u201cthose three empty seats should be filled with my co-workers to go out and do the job with me. It\\u2019s no fun having to go out and do it by yourself.\\u201d\\nSpeakers were mostly from the social work and public health sectors, like Heidi Corrado, the county\\u2019s public health emergency preparedness coordinator. \\u201cOne way that many counties and municipalities have been showing appreciation for their employees is through the American Rescue Plan Act,\\u201d she noted. \\u201cIn fact, this was one of the listed purposes of ARPA. Now, Mendocino County has received ARPA funds, but so far, the administration has said nothing and made no proposals, while staff watch other public employees in neighboring counties be acknowledged for their service\\u2026these employees come to work even when they themselves were evacuated and living in a shelter; worked at home when they were sick with covid; went to work knowing that they could be called out to respond to a home where everyone in that house was sick. It\\u2019s true that you cannot buy that kind of work ethic. It\\u2019s true. You cannot buy that kind of loyalty. But it should be rewarded.\\u201d The room erupted in a solid fifteen seconds of cheers and applause when she finished her remarks.\\nThe county is negotiating with employee units again today. Asked if county workers are moving towards a strike, SEIU Local 1021 Field Representative Patrick Hickey said in a text that \\u201cif the County doesn\\u2019t move, we\\u2019ll be discussing all of our options at our next General Membership meetings on Wednesday, July 20.\\u201d\\nLater in the morning, Supervisor Ted Williams sought support from the board for a living wage ordinance to help low wage workers earn sufficient pay. \\u201cYou know, frankly, I just feel embarrassed,\\u201d he said as he introduced the item. \\u201cIt makes me feel like we\\u2019re the Wal-Mart of employers.\\u201d\\nSupervisor Dan Gjerde said the county pays 70 cents in benefits for every dollar in wages for most of its employees, which means that the county pays $34 an hour for a worker earning $20 an hour. \\u201cSome of the better private-sector employers are paying about 30 cents in benefits for every dollar in salary, so that turns into $26 at $20 an hour pay,\\u201d he said; \\u201cso it\\u2019s much easier for those contractors (that are hired by the county), to bring their employees in at $20 an hour starting pay than it is for the county.\\u201d\\nSupervisor John Haschak pointed out the irony of asking county staff in departments that typically represent the county in negotiations with employees, to also work on a living wage ordinance. \\u201cIn this time of real budget crisis and very difficult times even providing anyone with a COLA when the cost of living is going up at 7 or 8%, then I don\\u2019t want to see staff time diverted from trying to figure out that problem at this point,\\u201d he said.\\nMartin Bennett, a professor emeritus at Santa Rosa Junior College, co-founder of North Bay Jobs with Justice, and a staff member of a North Bay union, called in to say that Sonoma county and three of its cities have adopted living wage ordinances. \\u201cLiving wage ordinances have proven to be good public policy,\\u201d he declared, saying that UC Berkeley Labor Center and others have proven that they reduce turnover and absenteeism, and increase retention and the quality of services. \\u201cLiving wage ordinances also ensure that taxpayers do not subsidize employers that pay less than a livable wage, forcing workers to access public programs,\\u201d such as MediCare and food stamps. He offered his help and that of staff at the Labor Council, to provide information about their experience crafting the living wage ordinance in Sonoma County, as well as contact information for advocates and staff all over the state, in other counties that have enacted living wage laws.\\nGjerde asked about what he called the roll-up effect, when low-wage workers get a raise and their managers demand the same percentage raise to maintain the gap between them, which he worries could result in a torrent of increased pay for employees at the management level. But Bennett said that was unlikely to be a problem. \\u201cThere are many fiscal impact studies of living wage laws,\\u201d he said, including one by the University of Massachusetts of the living wage law in Sonoma County. \\u201cThe bottom line is this,\\u201d he said. \\u201cThere is a so-called ripple effect when you raise wages at the bottom. But it\\u2019s limited.\\u201d\\nThe Board voted to direct Williams to work on the ordinance with outside help and minimal staff time, limited to things like providing documents but no lengthy analysis; and for him to return to the full board at an unspecified time with an informational workshop.'