Santa Barbara County Public Works employee Angel Lopez had to relocate to Lompoc after living in Santa Barbara his whole life because he’s struggling to keep up with the cost of living in his hometown, he told the Board of Supervisors during its July 16 meeting.
“It’s getting rough out here, too. I don’t want to move to Bakersfield,” he said during public comment. “There’s nothing wrong with Bakersfield, but I like it here.”
Lopez was one of about 100 of the county’s Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 620 employees advocating for a cost of living adjustment that aligned with inflation. The Local 620 represents 2,800 Santa Barbara County employees
across all departments in the county and about 3,800 on the Central Coast, interim Executive Director Laura Robinson told the Sun.
“We’ve had enough. We are at a breaking point, we are in crisis mode,” Robinson said.
The union came back to the supervisors chambers on July 16 after attending the July 9 meeting demanding cost of living adjustments and benefits that kept up with inflation. The current contract expired on June 23, and the union claims that the new contract failed to provide a cost of living adjustment that aligns with inflation, according to a statement from the union.
“Despite only a 7.5 percent COLA [cost of living adjustment] over the term of the last three-year contract, inflation has risen over 15 percent, exacerbating the financial strain on our members,” the statement read. “The county’s most recent offer neglects to address this disparity, offering significantly lower COLA than what was granted to all elected officials and department heads, who received a 5.0 percent increase in just one year.”
Robinson added that county executives and elected officials are also scheduled to receive a 3.2 percent consumer price index (CPI) increase in October.
“Both of [the county’s] offers are less than that for Local 620. It’s under 5 percent and under 3 percent next year when they’re entitled to 3.2 percent. Everything they are offering is lower than what they are entitled to,” she said.
During the July 9 meeting, 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said that the supervisors could claim no more than 3 percent. However, during the May 9, 2023, hearing, the supervisors voted 4-1 (with 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson dissenting) to increase supervisors’ cap on available salary increases from 3 percent to 5 percent and provide a 5 percent salary increase effective Sept. 18, 2023, according to the meeting minutes.
The SEIU has issued its last, best, and final offer of 12 percent increase over three years, while the county holds its offer at 10.5 percent, likely pushing negotiations to mediation, Robinson said.
“I’m happy the membership showed up. It’s unfortunate that two supervisors [Nelson and Lavagnino] weren’t present today, even though they are going on a monthslong recess … it’s frustrating,” she said. “Which is another point: They go black until Aug. 20, so we’ll be at a bare minimum contract until then, probably longer.”
Santa Barbara County Public Information Officer Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta told the Sun in a statement that the county respects its employee organizations’ right to advocate on behalf of their members and that the county is actively engaged in ongoing negotiations with SEIU.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to close the gap between us and reach an agreement that is acceptable to both parties, as we have with other bargaining groups,” Gerckens Buttitta said.
