News
County Agreement: No Raises for 6,000 Union Employees
Flanked by the two chairs of the King County Coalition of Unions, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced this afternoon that labor unions representing about 6,000 county employees had tentatively agreed to forgo cost-of-living increases next year, saving the county as much as $8 million. The county faces a shortfall next year of $60 million.
Noting that the unions whose leaders tentatively agreed to the wage freeze represent parks maintenance workers, jail and courthouse security screeners, dental assistants in public health clinics, and wastewater treatment workers, Constantine said, "This is truly a significant savings that will mean we can restore some of the services to King County that we have had to eliminate in our proposed budget."
However, Constantine said the agreement "does not, in large part, effect the criminal justice cuts that we outlined on Monday." That's because, as part of the agreement, cuts would be restored to those county departments whose employees agreed to forgo wage increases.
Constantine acknowledged that, in some cases, it would have been possible for him to put the savings from the union concessions into public safety; however, he said, "we're focusing any restorations [of funding] on those workplaces and those unions who are making a sacrifice. That's a matter of policy"---rather than law---
and common sense."
Two major county unions that have not yet agreed to wage freezes are those representing King County sheriff's deputies (whose contract mandates an automatic 5 percent increase every year) and Metro employees, including drivers. Because those unions can take their contracts to interest arbitration (resolution by an unrelated third-party mediator) if they don't agree with their terms, both unions seem unlikely to agree to wage concessions, county sources say.
Noting that the unions whose leaders tentatively agreed to the wage freeze represent parks maintenance workers, jail and courthouse security screeners, dental assistants in public health clinics, and wastewater treatment workers, Constantine said, "This is truly a significant savings that will mean we can restore some of the services to King County that we have had to eliminate in our proposed budget."
However, Constantine said the agreement "does not, in large part, effect the criminal justice cuts that we outlined on Monday." That's because, as part of the agreement, cuts would be restored to those county departments whose employees agreed to forgo wage increases.
Constantine acknowledged that, in some cases, it would have been possible for him to put the savings from the union concessions into public safety; however, he said, "we're focusing any restorations [of funding] on those workplaces and those unions who are making a sacrifice. That's a matter of policy"---rather than law---
and common sense."
Two major county unions that have not yet agreed to wage freezes are those representing King County sheriff's deputies (whose contract mandates an automatic 5 percent increase every year) and Metro employees, including drivers. Because those unions can take their contracts to interest arbitration (resolution by an unrelated third-party mediator) if they don't agree with their terms, both unions seem unlikely to agree to wage concessions, county sources say.
