Northampton County and SEIU Local 688 are currently negotiating a contract for union employees in Human Services.
In April, the "best and final offer" the county made to SEIU human services workers was a three-year contract. Year one would be a 2.75% step increase plus cash equal to 4.5% rolled into the base. Year two would be l be a repeat of year one. In year three, they would get a 4% COLA.
Those already at the top of their pay scales would get $1,750 cash bonuses in years one and two, along with the 4% COLA in Year 3.
Basically, the proposal amounts to a 13% payhike over three years.
The county has sweetened this deal by offering a $500 retention cash bonus on July 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025.
With the 500 extra bucks that’s over 5% for years 1 & 2.
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't mean a hill of beans if these people are way underpaid. Without a wage scale study to see what's paid in other Counties and comparable positions in the valley. What are we comparing these salaries too? Are these positions still way underpaid? Why is McClure still fighting with Council/Commissioners over a comprehensive wage study? Until we have something to compare these wages to non of this makes a hill of beans.
ReplyDeleteMcClure talks out of both sides of his mouth. Or maybe another part of his body. One minute he is tell the employees during contract talk that there is no money to give them their steps that are layed out for them. But he wants to build a new parking garage and he is bragging about how he just has 50 million dollars laying around. And he is this great money manager for the county.
ReplyDeleteNo he has his 50 million because he makes it off the backs of his employees. After 19 years with the county and on step 9 of 11steps. I personally don't know how he looks himself in the mirror after putting county employees in the positions they are.
But then you see what happens there. The employees want a salary comparison, pay study but he isn't gonna do it. But then you have the president of the residual union up there basically taking a knee to him. He should have kissed his ring. So you see how it hard for the union employees to get a fair shake.Tosti works more for the county then he does for the union members.
Union man of the year. Kiss my a--...
If he is so good why was council 13 just taken over by the national charter to fix it because of people like tosti forget their role.
This county will always be behind all the other county because it is the way they treat there employees. Why go to northampton when you can go to lehigh and make 20 to 30 % more.
Not happy there's the door don't let it hit ya where the good lord split ya.... You took the job knowing the pay now suck it up or give it up. always a body open to taking it.
ReplyDeleteWhy would they just accept less or leave? They have the ability to withhold their labor and force the county to compensate them.
Delete8:58, While I believe strongly in better compensation for all county workers, that new parking garage is absolutely needed unless you like cement chunks falling on your car. Also, the county absolutely needs more space. The elections office is scattered all over the place and needs a central space. The DA's office needs more room. So do Human Services.
ReplyDeleteLet’s see the data comparisons to local city governments & to private industry.
ReplyDeleteGov’t employees used to have incredible benefits for health care & retirement but lower hourly wages. Now they are way overpaid hourly with the same cushy benefits.
In addition, Biden wabts to cancel college loans for gov’t employees—Really???
oh yeah like $20/hr is overpaid 😂
DeleteI've been there 8 years and don't even make 18 an hour. The cushy benefits...where?
DeleteHear what you say about county needing more space; but, if you don't take care of the employee's you won't need the space.
ReplyDelete@8:58 did you read the post ? The offer contains 2 Steps and in the words of the Trump Organization, the County has offer to “True Up” to 4.5% - which is the size of the Step everyone else has. PSSU’s Step is 2.75%.
ReplyDeleteHere's a thought for all you County employees who think you're underpaid. LEAVE. GO GET ANOTHER JOB. IT'S NOT INDENTURED SERVITUDE. PACK UP YOUR THINGS AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE WHERE YOU CAN MAKE THE BIG BUCKS. TAKE YOUR TALENTS TO SOUTH BEACH. ETC. ETC. ETC.
ReplyDeleteSee - easy peezy.
Signed,
All of Bernie's Readers Who Are Tired of Hearing You Bitch About Being Underpaid, Time And Time Again
When you need services…and no one is there…we will all remind you of this comment.
DeleteBest and final offer my ass, pay your people what they deserve, bring back annual step increases so your employees only have to negotiate for COLA, and maybe…just maybe value each and every employee you have. The Lamont show wouldn’t work with out its employees and the cracks are starting to show
ReplyDeleteYou don’t like it go work somewhere else. County government doesn’t pay well. We all know that. We knew that when we signed up for the job. If people don’t like it, they are more than welcome to leave. Non-union staff aren’t guaranteed COLAs and steps each year but we stay. We all have our own reasons. There’s just always something to bitch about.
DeleteCouncil’s excellent pay study demonstrated that Norco’s civil service employees are well compensated. If anyone has paid half attention, they’d know that the unions are a percent or two ahead of the CS in terms of compensation.
ReplyDeleteThose people are thieves; both the union employees and anyone on council who supports this.
ReplyDeleteHow so?
DeleteJust came here to point out that the state reimburses the county 80% of their employees salaries. Administration is withholding money that doesn’t even coming out of their own pocket. For anyone saying county employees should go get a new job if they don’t like it- did you say that to Mack Truck employees when they went on strike? Better yet, how about all the boot lickers out there that are always praising the police? What if they were going for raises? Would you tell them to stop whining? Some of the employees you’re talking about go into situations just as dangerous as the police and without a weapon to defend themselves. Have some compassion for your social service workers. They’re there for the most vulnerable people in the community and it’s a 24/7 job. Our elderly and children in the community’s suffering doesn’t take breaks. The things that county workers see are not for the faint of heart. Don’t you think people want to make a difference but also want to make more money at the same time? This administration should be ashamed of themselves.
ReplyDelete25% pay increase for the Human Services folks over a 6 year period. They don’t think it’s enough.
ReplyDeleteFor reference as to how far behind on the scale the county is…support personnel are paid under $15 an hour and qualify for food stamps. It is sad that someone who works full time for a human services position, and just wants to help the community, needs to apply for food stamps. Is that how he treats his constituents/team members/citizens/employees?
ReplyDeleteSeems fair.
ReplyDeleteRetroactivity just left the building.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 9:08:
ReplyDeletePublic sector unions are leaches. Well, all unions are leaches but in the private sector at least they only destroy their industry *cough* Bethlehem Steel *cough* so that's just natural selection at work but public sector unions *cough* education *cough* government perpetuate and milk the taxpayer dry. But, oh, public sector unions benefit (sic) all of us.
That being said, corporate governance and your elected public officials are also mostly comprised of brain-dead stooges.
Stop playing games. Tome for a real across the board pay study for all county jobs. The step system is broken, and these bizarre offers are just dumb. Get back to basics and stop playing games.
ReplyDeleteFor all the under payed county works here let me help you out.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.com
Monster.com
CareerBuilder.com
Glassdoor.com
Linkedin.com
and many many more.
So here's 5 to get ya started. Your welcome
Why would they leave? Why wouldn’t they just withhold their labor and force the county to accept their terms?
DeleteMaybe you should go back to school and learn English and the proper spelling, then you can be an asshole to people.
DeleteWhen I started I was promised a step every year until I was at the top. COLA should be the only thing negotiated. It should always be offered because the cost of living doesn't stop going up. Steps are there to reward progression and job skill. If the departments have employees that cant cut it then that is their supervisors problem for not writing them up repeatedly for bad performance to the point of termination.
ReplyDeleteWe accepted less pay due to the awesome benefits package. Brown removed our health care. Mcclure brought part of it back but they keep shifting things that are causing headaches for everyone. I believe in 2012 they removed retirement healthcare to new employees. If they take everything away then we should be compensated with more pay.
Non-union staff aren’t guaranteed COLAs and steps each year but we stay. At the union negotiation our first request is to get paid equal to career service. Most CS pay grades are $5k-15k more. We wanted what they give CS. They wouldn't hear it.
The union is a joke and has consistently negotiated less than CS. We are told "This is the best we are going to get" and should accept it.
When they offer just steps that means the people at the top are consistently earning less buying potential every year. Steps should be guaranteed until the top. COLA should be the only thing negotiated. Bring it down to 4 steps if that is the problem.
The only reason you all have a problem is because our wages are public. When private sector raises prices do you bitch that their employees might have gotten a raise? Everyone wants more money. If you pay taxes it is no different than buying a cup of coffee. We offer services that need to be funded. Just because you haven't needed them today doesn't mean they aren't there for when you do.
To those that say "Go somewhere else" just remember that many already have and services have suffered. Institutional knowledge has been lost. Efficiency has suffered. Offices are always playing catchup. When the phone doesnt get answered or it takes forever for you to take care of things just remember that this is what you guys wanted. When you walk into an empty office with only 1 worker remember that this is what you wanted.
This writer is saying that union was demanding equal pay to career service workers? Career service employees are typically in management roles or other higher level positions in which responsibilities and work load is far greater. They are not equivalent for a reason. Meanwhile many career service staff make less money than union staff. There are many supervisors and above who are making less than the staff they supervise. CS has no union and no protection. CS just had a $1000 medical deductible hike and a .5 % medical contribution increase. There are career service employees who have been there for 15 plus years and are still near the very bottom of the pay scale.
DeleteThis writer thinks there should be equivalent benefits and pay? You can take our higher deductible and contribution! As a career service employee I would be happy to take your 15% increase. You were fools for not accepting your offer.
Very fair offer. 15% over 3 years. 25% over 6 years.
ReplyDelete12:19. When you strike, which is your absolute right, you don’t get paid. There’s not going to be any retroactive pay, and there will be very little public sympathy when they learn that you think the taxpayers should increase your wages by more than 25% over 6 years. You’re being used.
ReplyDeleteInstead of a new overpriced building give that money to the employees. You don’t need a new building if there’s no one to work in it. But McLiar just wants his name on something… he doesn’t care a bit about the employees who really run the county.
ReplyDeleteThere needs to be a wage study. But McClueless will stop that. Just like he stopped the investigation into what happened during the November election. We didn’t hear the truth about why that was messed up. His interference in these investigations implies that he’s protecting his own a$$.
ReplyDeleteFor those who say they want to be paid what career service gets, ok, I’m sure that can be negotiated. Career Service employees are not guaranteed COLAs or steps and in the past got anywhere from 2% to 3.5%, not this 4.5% being offered to the union. Plus our healthcare contribution went up, along with a deductible increase, so really we lose out on the little we get. We also put in way more than 40 hours a week and don’t get compensated for it.
ReplyDeleteSo you heard it here. They want what career service gets, offer them a 3% raise, increased healthcare contribution and a higher deductible. Done!
McClure’s name is already on a building… read the plaque at DHS.
ReplyDelete