COUNTY, SEIU REACH CONTRACT DEAL TENTATIVE PACT WOULD GIVE 50,000 WORKERS BIGGEST RAISE IN DECADES.

Byline: TROY ANDERSON Staff Writer

The Board of Supervisors and Los Angeles County's largest union have reached a contract deal that will give nearly 50,000 workers their largest salary and merit increases in decades, officials said.

The tentative three-year contract, which must be approved by the supervisors and ratified by members of Service Employees International Union, Local 660, would give most union members raises totaling 15.5 percent.

The contract also calls for a 10 percent increase in the county's contribution to employee health plans and a benefit that would require the county to pay $75 to $375 a month to help employees pay for child care.

The union and county officials hailed the deal as key to helping the county retain and hire more nurses and help lift workers who now qualify for food stamps out of poverty.

``I think it's a very good settlement for everyone concerned,'' Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said Friday. ``The SEIU led the way three years ago when they took a 5 percent pay raise for three years. They made a huge sacrifice in the interest of the county when we needed help.

``We believe this is sustainable. We've tried to zero it in to give an extra boost to people at the lower end of the income spectrum. A lot are making $25,000 to $30,000 a year, which for a family of four is poverty wages in L.A.''

Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen wouldn't say how much the total package would cost until it's ratified.

But Janssen said the county can afford it because of rising property tax collections and the recent passage of a measure that prevents the state from raiding local coffers.

The tentative contract follows months of protests by SEIU members who said it has become so expensive to live in Southern California that many county workers now qualify for food stamps.

While thousands of county employees make more than $100,000 a year, about 3,000 clerks, nursing attendants, cooks, custodians and laundry workers make less than $30,000 a year and qualify for welfare benefits.

``Many of our employees are living at, or below, 300 percent of the federal poverty level, believe it or not,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``One of the things we've tried to do is lift up those employees at the bottom of the wage scale.''

Since 1993, SEIU members' wages have been frozen several times to avoid layoffs during county government fiscal crises. In the past three years, SEIU members received 5 percent in raises while the cost of living has risen 11 percent.

Earlier this year, the county reached an agreement with the sheriff's unions to give them up to 18.5 percent in pay raises and other benefits over the next three years in an effort to help recruit deputies.

Under the SEIU contract, nurses in particular would benefit.

``I know the nurses are getting 18 (percent) to 30 percent increases,'' said SEIU spokesman Mark Tarnawsky. ``What they negotiated was a series of step increases. The pay was so low before that the county couldn't even hire nurses.''

Under the deal, starting salaries for nurses will be $61,644 a year, Janssen said.

``I'm glad to hear this,'' Supervisor Don Knabe said. ``The nurses have been a concern of mine for quite a while. We are in a very difficult situation from a competitive standpoint. Even with this significant increase they have agreed to, there are a lot of things private hospitals are offering nurses, from closing costs on homes to you name it.''

Late last year, county nurses said public hospitals lacked 900 nurses to meet safe staffing levels and stressed that the situation was endangering patients' lives. They urged the county to raise nurse salaries to help retain and hire more nurses.

``Nurses are at a premium because of state standards for staffing ratios and the shortage of nurses,'' Janssen said.

Under the contract, workers would get two 2.75 percent half-step increases in 2007 and 2008, and a 4 percent raise retroactive to Oct. 1, according to details on the union's Web site. Workers also would get a 3 percent raise Jan. 1, 2008, and another 3 percent raise Jan. 1, 2009.

Tarnawsky said the child-care benefit is a significant gain.

``That's a tremendous thing for our members, lots of whom are single moms with kids who struggle exactly with this problem,'' Tarnawsky said.

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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