Solano County reaches tentative agreement with SEIU

FAIRFIELD — Solano County’s largest employee union reached a tentative agreement with the county this week after hundreds of county workers went on strike in January.

The tentative agreement with Services Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021 settles on a 6% wage increase, short of the original 12% sought by the union. In addition to the pay increase, the county also offered a cash bonus and a cost-of-living adjustment to wages, among other worker specific equity increases, according to union communications obtained by the Vallejo Sun. 

SEIU members will vote on whether to accept the tentative offer starting Monday. If ratified, the wage increase will go to the Board of Supervisors to be approved March 24. 

The agreement requires a pay increase of 3% along with a $1,200 cash bonus April 17, followed by a 2% increase and a $500 cash bonus on Oct. 25, and a final 1% pay increase on July 4, 2027. The third year may see a cost-of-living adjustment to worker’s wages. The wage contract would last until Sept. 30, 2028, at which point wages will be open to renegotiation.

The county worker strike was closely followed by a county public defenders strike, who argue that their pay is below market rate and leads to attorneys moving to neighboring counties. Other unions who were striking with SEIU local 1021 in January are still negotiating with the county, including the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21, Stationary Engineers Local 39, and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists.

Negotiations between the county and unions had been ongoing for months. According to a purchase order obtained by the Vallejo Sun, the county contracted a legal firm in August last year as an intermediary in the discussions, which charged the county $260,000.

Linda Cheesman, who works in the county surplus and mail room, said in an interview that the cost incurred by the county in the negotiations, “raises serious questions about priorities.”

For her, the strike has been so stressful that she needed a day-off to recuperate. But it’s more than money. Underpaying county staff directly impacts its residents, said Cheesman, calling it a “trickle effect.”

According to a study paid for by the county, library assistants make 17.9% less in median wages than in neighboring counties. Public health nurses meanwhile make 12.1% less, paralegals 20.4% less and 911 dispatchers make 13.9% less. All of these positions are represented by the union and various will receive position-specific equity increases to match market-rate wages.

“We're very low on staff. They're not able to sustain what they have going right now. We're working people way too many hours, and they're getting burnt out. They're leaving us,” said Cheesman. “That's not a safe situation for our community.”

“The wait times get longer. People don't get the services they need,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Cheesman said that the emerging professionals often use Solano county to gain experience and then leave to neighboring counties offering more competitive pay, resulting in high-turnover and low retention. 

SEIU 1021 Solano chapter president Nicole Chavira-Garcia said in an interview that while Solano County did not match their demands, they at least offered version of what the unions had asked for, including wage increases and a cost-of-living adjustment  

“It’s not the best but it's the best of the current economic situation,” said Chavira-Garcia. “Just look at the gas prices today.”

“We have to be blessed that we have that because in all reality, our community is going to be suffering as well,” she said.

SEIU 1021 represents county workers including library staff, 911 dispatch and eligibility workers who distribute welfare benefits, which federal government cuts are expected to further limit. 

The county did not respond to a request for comment.