PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNION SUPPORTS 4-YEAR CONTRACT.

Byline: - Cecilia Chan

SIMI VALLEY - Members of City Hall's largest union overwhelmingly ratified a four-year contract that gives them a 19.6 percent increase in pay and benefits, officials said Friday.

The agreement goes to the City Council for adoption on Tuesday.

``The employees did a hell of a job out there, focusing on the issues that were important to them and staying the course until they got what they were seeking,'' said Barry Hammitt, executive director of Service Employees International Union, Local 998, which represents clerical staff and police dispatchers.

Hammitt said Monday's night tally came in at 92 percent of the voters approving the contract.

The agreement calls for a 3 percent across-the-board salary increase effective Aug. 12; increases in city payments for medical, dental and vision premiums; and life insurance enhancement. The city also would set up a program to provide medical insurance for retirees.

In the remaining three years of the contract, there would be a 3 percent salary hike for each year and more increases in insurance payments by the city.

The union's most recent contract, negotiated three years ago, gave employees a 2 percent salary hike the first two years and a 3 percent increase the third year, Magelnicki said. She said the average union salary is $20 an hour.

Hammitt said the union's next step is to work with the city to form a committee to study the costs and feasibility of enhancing the city's retirement program.

The committee is expected to be up and running in January.