Employees of the Los Osos Community Services District will be getting healthy raises after the board approved a new contract with the union.
The CSD’s “miscellaneous employees’ bargaining unit” are represented by the San Luis Obispo County Employees’ Association (SLOCEA) for “economic issues,” so when the County gives raises, other affiliated groups follow.
The CSD’s employees’ contract actually ran out June 30 but back in May the board had approved a “side-letter” or extension that had already approved several provisions that were then included in the new contract.
Among the side letter’s concessions were: a 5.25% cost of living adjustment for this year and another 5.25% COLA for 2023; employees with over 14-years on the job will be allowed to exchange five days or 40 hours of sick time into paid vacation time; employees that opt-out of the CAL PERS Medical Insurance plan will get $725; the stand-by hourly pay rate increased to $4.25 from $3.25; and next year’s COLA is contingent “on the completion of a salary survey by June 30, 2023, of the positions/classifications covered by this MOU,” reads the staff report from LOCSD General Manager Ron Munds.
It should be noted that 5.25% is a nice raise, and no doubt welcomed by the employees, inflation tops 8.5% making the raise not quite enough to cover increasing costs of literally everything.
Among the non-economic issues the new contract worked out are: changing the resolution of disputes from “mediation” to “arbitration;” agreeing to negotiate a change to the District’s performance evaluation system; and an agreement to reopen negotiations concerning a 50/50 split of increased health insurance costs a.k.a. “reopener.”
Overall for the CSD, the new contract is going to cost about $55,000 over the next 2 years.
Employee positions under the miscellaneous employees contract are Admin Clerk I, II, III; Utility Billing Specialist; Water Resource Crew Leader; and Water Resource Operator Trainee I, II, Ill and IV.
The term of the new contract runs from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024, with a 1-year extension, provided both sides agree.
