About 20 female employees of the San Benito County Superior
Court plan to picket the court house today to protest the court’s
proposal to cut their health insurance and force them to pay for
their own retirement, according to union organizers.
Hollister – About 20 female employees of the San Benito County Superior Court plan to picket the court house today to protest the court’s proposal to cut their health insurance and force them to pay for their own retirement, according to union organizers.
Service Employee International Union organizer John Vellardita said the union has been negotiating to renew contracts for court reporters and court clerks for about a month.
“They want to be treated fairly and justly,” Vellardita said. “We’re not trying to break the court’s back, but we’ve never had this type of proposal.”
Court Executive Officer Alex Calvo was unavailable for comment Thursday because the court was closed for Veterans Day and his listed home phone number had been disconnected.
When reached at home on Thursday, Judge Steven Sanders said he would rather have questions directed to Calvo because “he’s primarily involved in negotiations – more directly than the judges.”
Vellardita said Calvo has proposed rolling back benefits the workers have had for years because of the court’s strained financial situation.
He said Calvo proposed cutting the workers’ health benefits, which would cause them to pay hundreds of dollars monthly for health insurance. He said the latest proposal is for court employees to pay for their own pension plan, which would be a minimum of a 7 percent cut in their annual pay.
“Nowhere in the state has that been proposed. San Benito County is no different than any other court system, and they are all having financial troubles,” Vellardita said. “But nobody’s making the proposals this court’s making.”
The average salary of one of the workers is about $40,000 with benefits, he said.
The court receives all its funding from the state’s Judicial Council, Vellardita said. During the bargaining sessions, Calvo and a spokesman from the Judicial Council in Sacramento have proposed the cutbacks, he said.
Supervisor Reb Monaco said the Board of Supervisors has little control over the court because of recent legislation that separated the courts from county regulations.
“The court is somewhat autonomous in that sense. When you get into labor issues within the courts, we don’t have much power,” he said. “But I have heard rumblings that this was going to happen.”
Monaco said he is an advocate of fair labor relations and is disheartened when any group of public employees become embroiled in labor disputes.
From what he’s heard about the conflict, he said the proposed cuts are severe.
“But having said that, I don’t know the details,” he said. “It could be something that’s been thrown out there but is still negotiable.”
The union is proposing a moderate cost of living increase and maintaining their health insurance, Vellardita said.
“None of our proposals have been unreasonable,” he said.
He said Monterey County court employees just received a 4 percent salary increase, and the funding for all county courts comes from the same place – the state of California.
He also said none of the court’s proposals have included cutting the management’s salaries or benefits.
“(Workers) can’t work under these conditions. It’s very discouraging for the court to put its problems on the backs of these workers,” Vellardita said. “They’re ready to take it on. They’ve got nothing to lose.”
Supervisor Ruth Kesler agreed with Monaco that cutting the women’s’ benefits and pension plans isn’t right, but said no one has contacted her about the dispute.
“I’m not about to walk the streets with them – I think there’s better ways to go about it than that,” she said. “Ask one of them, ‘Why didn’t you go ask Kesler to help you?’ I’ve always been a women’s advocate.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
