COUNTY LABOR TALKS REVIVED UNION CALLS OFF STRIKE PLAN AT LEAST TILL JULY 6.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

VENTURA - With its 4,200 public employees poised to strike in just two days, Ventura County's biggest employee union agreed Tuesday to resume contract negotiations with management.

Union officials also agreed to a request from the state mediator to postpone the strike threatened for 12:01 a.m. Thursday, when the current contract expires.

``This is really good news. We've been hoping we'd be able to sit down at the table with them,'' Supervisor Frank Schillo said. ``Sitting down, we have a 50-50 chance of working with them.''

Going through a state mediator, county officials had asked representatives of Service Employees International Union Local 998 to resume negotiations, which have been stalled since early May. The two sides agreed to sit down at 9:30 a.m. July 5.

Schillo said the supervisors met in closed session Tuesday afternoon and directed their negotiators to make a last-ditch attempt to avert the strike.

``It would have very much inconvenienced the public unless we had a chance to talk,'' he said.

Barry Hammitt, executive director for Local 998, could not be reached late Tuesday for comment.

Earlier in the day, he said union leaders had been finalizing preparations for a strike.

``We're doing the rest of our analysis to determine how to bring the most pain and suffering to (officials of) the county of Ventura,'' Hammitt said. ``We'll continue for as many days as it takes to accomplish our goal.''

County officials said they have a contingency plan in place so the Government Center can continue operating if a strike occurs.

``We're as ready as we can be,'' said Chief Administrative Officer John Johnston.

The contract dispute centers on wages. While the county has offered a 3 percent raise, the SEIU is demanding what Hammitt calls parity with workers in comparable cities and counties: an increase of roughly 10 percent. Union members also want a cost-of-living adjustment on retirement benefits for workers hired after 1979.

County officials say the retirement-benefits proposal would cost taxpayers $23 million and force cuts in programs and services in every department.

Contract negotiations also have stalled between the county and the Ventura County Deputy Sheriffs' Association over wage and retirement plans.

``I've told them that we would be happy to come back to the bargaining table if they had someone who had authority and desire to do something,'' said Glen Kitzmann, president of the 750-member deputies association. ``We've tried to structure deals and stuff, but I'm better off talking to a wall.''

During Tuesday's regular meeting, however, the supervisors approved a contract with another union, the Professional Peace Officers Association, which would give workers an immediate 5 percent pay increase.