COUNTY OFFERS WORKERS MORE LOWEST-PAID STAFF MAY GET BIGGER RAISES.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Los Angeles County offered bigger pay raises to some of its lower-paid employees Friday as negotiations restarted a day after workers returned from a one-day walkout.

``We've seen a whole new bargaining dynamic at the table,'' said Bart Diener, assistant general manager of Local 660 of the Service Employees International Union. ``We've seen more progress in the last 48 hours than we saw in all the weeks leading up to the strike.''

Progress was reported in the areas of pay for some of the lowest-paid employees, retirement packages, quality patient care at county hospitals and training for more efficient delivery of services.

However, at the Rancho Park office of the Department of Social Services in the Century City area, 21 clerical employees walked off the job Friday.

They were protesting a county proposal for a three-year 12 percent wage hike, said county spokeswoman Judy Hammond.

The walkout was at odds with a general return of workers after Cardinal Roger Mahony urged strikers Thursday to consider the plight of the county's poor people, those most affected by a loss of county services.

While the county has maintained it would not give a raise of more than 9 percent over three years, Diener said employees in many of Local 660's 20 bargaining units are being offered more.

``For many of our members, the county is now offering between 12 (percent) and 13.5 percent raises,'' Diener said. ``Secondly, we've seen major movement in the area of retirement.''

Local 660 is divided into 20 bargaining units, some of which have received lower pay hikes in the past, which is why the county has proposed paying more for some units.

County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said the workers who are being offered raises higher than 9 percent earn less than $24,000 a year.

He said the county is attempting to address pay inequities by offering some workers higher wage hikes.

The average salary of Local 660 members is $29,151 a year. More than 14,000 members earn less than $1,800 a month. Wages were frozen during the county's fiscal crisis of 1993-97. From 1997 until their contract expired this year, workers got a total 12 percent wage hike.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the general wage hike offer is 9 percent.

``Many units have been re-evaluated for inequities, and where we have retention problems we are going to give more,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``With units at the lowest end of the pay scale, we are looking for innovative ways to help them and give them some comfort and cushion.''

One of the most significant issues for the more than 20,000 Local 660 members who work for the Department of Health Services as nurses and other health care workers is the staffing crisis at county hospitals.

They want the health department to lift a 1994 department hiring freeze and hire more health workers to fill the 2,500 jobs eliminated in the last decade.

``Our registered nurses are reporting great progress in resolving many of the working condition issues in the hospitals,'' Diener said.

No negotiations will take place this weekend to allow negotiators time to rest. The talks will resume Monday.