Nurses Will Take Case to Supervisors

After staging two demonstrations in the past two weeks, Ventura County nurses plan to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting today, hoping to persuade officials to conclude tense contract negotiations.

Their latest effort comes nearly a month after the county and 250 nurses represented by the California Nurses Assn. reached an impasse in talks over pay and allegations of unsafe staffing practices, such as having intensive-care nurses work in the pediatric unit without training.

The nurses association is one of three unions--the others representing county probation officers and attorneys--attempting to hammer out new contracts that include wage hike requests ranging from 4.7% to 8%.

On Thursday, about 70 probation and correction services officers from the Ventura County Professional Peace Officers Assn. picketed in front of the County Government Center..

A state mediator has met several times with county representatives and peace officers union officials since the parties first declared an impasse in October 1997.

The association’s 300 members received a 2% raise under their contract that expired in December 1997. Entry-level correction-services officers make $22,000 annually, while beginning probation officers are paid $28,000.

Some county employees have expressed anger that supervisors are studying a pay raise for themselves and elected department heads, while negotiations continue on worker contracts.

“Supervisors have the audacity to say that the economy is healthy and now that the county is in the black it’s a good time to review salaries for supervisors and department heads,” said Jeanne Hunt, who works for the district attorney’s child support division. Hunt’s union, Service Employees International, recently negotiated an immediate 1% salary increase.

“I and my colleagues won’t be up for another raise until 2001,” Hunt said. “It’s very grating to hear that the county is doing well financially, but when the unions come in and say they want a pay raise, the county is suddenly poor.”

Supervisors are in the process of choosing nine people to sit on its Blue-Ribbon Salary Review Committee to compare salaries and benefits of supervisors and department heads in Southern California counties and make recommendations.

Ventura County supervisors are paid $71,897 a year and receive $50,000 in life insurance, an annual car allowance of $4,500, plus mileage, along with $6,422 in health-care benefits.

“If it’s proven that supervisors deserve a raise than they should have a raise, just like us,” said Cindie Cole, an emergency-room nurse who is on her union’s negotiating team. Nurses with three years of experience make $18.34 an hour at Ventura County Medical Center, while those working at private hospitals in this area make about $24 an hour.

“We hope our trump card will be getting the message out to the public,” said Cole, noting that the union has a no-strike clause in its contract. “We will do the slow, easy methods first before we do any of the mean and difficult things. Nurses are supposed to be caregivers.”

Supervisor John Flynn, whose frontyard was visited by picketing probation officers earlier this month, said the salary committee was probably not a good idea. He and board Chairwoman Susan Lacey voted earlier this month against forming the committee.

“The timing probably could have been better,” Flynn said. “It doesn’t look good to form a blue-ribbon committee to consider salaries for officials when the contracts are in question. It was bad timing, and I’m willing to admit that.”

Supervisor Frank Schillo, who won’t attend today’s meeting, disagreed.

“We’re in negotiations with one union or another around the year,” said Schillo, who will be in Washington today lobbying for federal legislation to benefit local military bases. “What we’re doing with our parity study is consistent with what we’re doing for employees countywide. I’m not ashamed of saying we’re improving salaries.”

Four months ago, Ventura County prosecutors and public defenders represented by the Criminal Justice Attorneys Assn. began trying to forge a new two-year contract.

That union sued the county 2 1/2 years ago while trying to negotiate their current contract.

The suit was filed after a bitter pay dispute dragged on for nearly two years. The association accused the county of bad-faith bargaining and union-busting. The suit was dropped after an agreement was reached in January 1997 that mirrored a pay package for county managers. Entry-level county attorneys make $35,000, while those with seven years’ experience earn $81,000.

“We had to [file the suit] at the time.” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Maeve Fox, the current association president. “It was something we did because we felt we were not being dealt with in good faith. The county thought we would go away as a bargaining unit. But we’re still here, so we have no regrets. I just regret that the progress was so unpleasant.”

Jane Mahnken, the county’s chief negotiator, said she was hopeful that all the outstanding contracts would soon be settled.

“We have a long-standing relationship with these unions,” Mahnken said. “We’ve had rocky roads before, but we’ve always been able to come to an agreement.”