Pierce County unions agreeable to going without cost-of-living increases

Employees in several Pierce County unions have approved contracts with no cost-of-living wage increase for the first time in nearly three decades.

So far, eight of the county’s 20 bargaining units have agreed to labor agreements for 2012 with no annual pay increase, or COLA.

“I think this is huge,” said County Executive Pat McCarthy.

The agreements show union employees “understand the challenges due to the economic recession and what the county has been going through the past three years,” she said.

The county’s budget has shrunk 14 percent in the last four years – from $881 million in 2008 to $762 million in 2011. More than 450 positions were cut.

Labor contracts without annual wage boosts have been approved for about 40 percent – some 700 employees – of the county’s 1,700 represented employees. The county is seeking no cost-of-living increases for all of its nearly 3,000 employees. Among those, 1,240 nonrepresented employees also wouldn’t receive cost-of-living adjustments in 2012.

Contracts for two of the county’s largest groups – the guilds for corrections officers and sheriff’s deputies – are still to be settled. Negotiations for the corrections guild are under way and the deputies group says it’s ready to begin, said Joe Carrillo, the county’s labor relations manager.

“Most groups are being receptive,” Carrillo said. “Nobody has said ‘no.’”

One of the largest bargaining units to forgo a COLA is Local 120 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Dylan Carlson, who led negotiations for the union, said the vote was difficult for the more than 200 members of Local 120 – especially when prices are rising for food and gas.

He said a “strong majority” approved the contract. The local covers a wide range of county employees, from animal control officers to wastewater treatment plant operators.

“They wanted to avoid layoffs and they wanted to avoid cuts in services,” Carlson said.

Even without an annual wage increase, some county workers could lose their jobs with next year’s budget, he said.

Seven of the eight agreed-upon contracts will go to the Pierce County Council Aug. 9 to be ratified. McCarthy will propose her budget in September, and the County Council is scheduled to adopt a budget in November.

Forgoing a COLA shows workers are willing to sacrifice some of their personal desires for the good of taxpayers, said County Council Chairman Roger Bush.

“It really is quite significant,” Bush said.

Carrillo said Pierce County employees haven’t gone without a COLA since the early 1980s when the county was out of money. Instead of raises, the county cut hours then but not salaries, he said.

The latest agreements are one-year extensions of three-year contracts, which tied the county to minimum increases of 2.5 percent even when the Consumer Price Index was lower than that. The inflation rate from the previous CPI year – May 31 through June 1 – affects pay raises for the current year.

That meant most county workers got the minimum 2.5 percent cost-of-living hike in 2010 and the same in 2011, even though the inflation rate for the two prior years landed in negative numbers, adding up to -0.9 percent.

In the past two years, county workers have paid health care insurance costs they hadn’t paid before. The amount was roughly equal to the cost-of-living adjustments, said Deputy County Executive Kevin Phelps. Some departments also had furloughs in 2010 and 2011.

This year, the county negotiated wages and benefits together, Phelps said. The county agreed to pay up to 10 percent of any increase in health care premiums. Any increase beyond 10 percent is split evenly by the county and its employees in the new contracts.

The county doesn’t know its insurance costs yet for next year. But even with a worst-case hike in premiums, the county still would be better off financially without a 2.5-percent COLA, Phelps said.

In the past year, county workers have taken hits in the media for reportedly having a “disconnect” with their wages going up while some private employers were cutting wages, Phelps said.

A News Tribune analysis in May showed average pay for county workers rose 21 percent in the past six years – higher than the CPI increase of 13 percent during that period.

The inflation rate from the end of May 2010 to the beginning of June 2011 was 3.2 percent, Phelps said.

The latest contracts are “a good first step,” showing workers have an understanding of what’s happening in the county and are willing to do their part, Phelps said.

“There is a desire on their part to protect jobs,” Carrillo said of the eight units. “There is a desire to protect services for the public. They wanted to contribute to solving our budget problems.”

If every bargaining unit agrees to no COLA, the county could save $5.5 million in wages, Phelps said. And that’s with the county headed into another tough budget year with the potential for more cuts.

Phelps cited an increase in county payments to the state pension fund and flat sales tax revenue as among the county’s challenges.

“We know that 2012 is going to be an extremely challenging year,” Phelps said, “maybe the most challenging in the last four in reaching a balanced budget.”

Steve Maynard: 253-597-8647
steve.maynard@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/crime

PIERCE COUNTY COST-OF-LIVING INCREASES BY PERCENTAGE

Contracts called for a minimum increase of 2.5 percent and a maximum of 5.5 percent. Miscellaneous unions received 90 percent of the inflation rate, called the Consumer Price Index. Deputies and corrections guilds received 100 percent of the CPI.

Year (inflation rate): Miscellaneous union, non-represented workers; deputies guild; corrections guild

2006 (2.3%): 2.50%; 2.5%; 2.5%

2007 (4.2%): 3.78%; 4.2%; 4.2%

2008 (3.5%): 3.15%; 4.0%**; 3.5%

2009 (5.8%): 5.22%; 5.5%; 5.5%

2010 (-0.4%): 2.50%; 2.5%; 2.5%

2011 (-0.5%): 2.50%; 2.5%; under negotiations

** Includes added 0.5.

Source: Pierce County