WEINGARTEN RIGHTS
"If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined, terminated, or cause an effect on my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my Union Representative be present at this time."
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Board Meeting
January 15th 2019
6:00 PM
Board of Supervisors Chambers
Lakeport
Board Meeting
February 19th 2019
6:00 PM
Kelseyville Pizza
Kelseyville
Board Meeting
March 19th 2019
Community Room
Middletown
Board Meeting
April 16th 2019
Adult Services
Lower Lake
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
May 21st 2019
6:00 PM
Board of Supervisor's Chambers
Lakeport
Board Meeting
June 18th 2019
Kelseyville Pizza
Kelseyville
Board Meeting
July 16th 2019
Community Room
Middletown
Board Meeting
August 20th 2019
Adult Services
Lower Lake
Board Meeting
September 17th 2019
Kelseyville Pizza
Kelseyville
Board Meeting
October 15th 2019
Community Room
Middletown
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
November 19th 2019
Board of Supervisor's Chambers
Lakeport
Board Meeting
December 17th 2019
Adult Services
Lower Lake
Negotiations Update: All Units
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Negotiations Update!
I’m writing to clear up some confusion regarding the state of negotiations following a recent notice generated by the County of an increase in their contribution to employee Health, Dental, and Vision plans to $1000 total per eligible employee.
While we only recently received the proposal, we expressed concerns about the employees' ability to make informed decisions on their benefit plan selection timely as we were already in open enrollment and it was scheduled to end soon!
The County responded by sending out the notification on October 18th to all staff about the proposed increase in contribution. We appreciate this move because we know how critical this information is to you when making your 2019 plan selections.
However, please understand that it doesn’t change the fact that we are still in bargaining (interest-based bargaining). Following completion of bargaining, there will be a contract to vote on, which will include (but may not necessarily be limited to) the County’s offer to increase their contribution to health, dental and vision to $1000 per eligible employee.
I’m really sorry for the confusion, thank you for your patience!
Thank you,
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
president@lcea.info
Negotiations Update: Units 3,4,5
Thursday, October 04, 2018
Negotiations Update
As reported in our recent newsletter your negotiations team met with the County and a Federal trainer on September 17th 2018 for an Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) Training. Both LCEA and the County were intrigued with the information presented and look forward to putting the concepts to work at the table for County Employees. The next step will be scheduling some dates for bargaining with the assistance of a state facilitator. Stay tuned.
Negotiations Update
Monday, June 18, 2018
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
The county has solicited the Fed's (who may be conducting the training on interest based bargaining) and we are waiting on a response.
Thank you for your patience while we try to move forward into uncharted territory!
Negotiations Update!
Friday, May 11, 2018
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
Good morning!
1. Yesterday the team had a negotiations meeting with the County (I hope your ducks were out in solidarity!) While both sides were prepared to trade on noneconomic openers, we proposed a change of course in favor of a more flexible means of negotiating, which may involve training from the State or Federal Government (in the next few weeks) with a return to the table potentially in late-June. We are excited about this opportunity, and look forward to this potentially leading to more effective bargaining on this round of negotiations.
2. As many of you know, on behalf of County employees, I appealed to the Board of Supervisors in support of the classification and compensation study proposed by the County.
I know that this is a hot-button topic, but after careful consideration, your board of directors believes that this is truly a positive move for County employees. Clearly change is desperately needed, and a long-term solution must be found to the problems that we are facing. We don't believe (even a little) that the study will solve the problems we face in totality, but it's a step in the right direction, and MUST be followed by others of equal and earnest measure if we are to see positive results.
A very moving gesture was also made by the County Administrative Officer (CAO) Carol Huchingson by offering the LCEA President an opportunity (which I accepted) to participate in a panel for the purpose of selecting the firm to conduct the Classification and Compensation study. Today will be the first meeting on that panel. I want you to know that I take my role seriously, and will do all that I can do represent employee interests
CCRR Meeting Recap
Sunday, March 25, 2018
On March 9th 2018, Pursuant to the last, best and final offer for Units 3, 4 & 5, your Vice President James Scott and I met with the County Classification and Compensation Committee (CCRR) to discuss employee retention strategies as well as consideration of a draft employee compensation philosophy statement.
The Committee included representation from several department heads as well as the County Administrative Officer (CAO) Carol Huchinson.
Our presentation included statements provided by County employees in response to our request for input, as well as an article from Brigette Hyacith called "Loyal Employees are Assets - Not Liabilities!" that we found significant about the importance of a supportive and encouraging work culture in retaining quality employees.
Employee responses provided to CCRR (paraphrased):
“Other Counties are actively head-hunting our personnel with offers of wages 30% higher. I would prefer to earn what I’m worth and attract other staff to work for Lake County.”
“Other Counties offer better benefit packages which is why we lose people.”
“We are trying to do our best to stay loyal, even despite our current financial situation.”
“Employee turnover costs more than anything offered to current employees.”
“My position has greatly expanded in scope without a comparable rise in compensation.”
“We are chronically understaffed and those unfilled positions create additional workloads for the remaining employees.”
“Incentives should be given toward longevity. Anything!”
Other noted concerns:
Health care costs
Bilingual pay
Safety
We highlighted the need for integration of the following core values; Integrity, Service and Excellence, which is essential to the pursuit of a better work culture and should always be modeled from the top down.
Our information was well received and our impression is that there is a mutual interest in promoting positive change that will be beneficial to employees and the County as a whole.
It's clear that the change that is so desperately needed won't come easy - it's going to require a strategic plan implemented on multiple fronts to solve the problems in employee retention that we face today. This includes additional revenue streams to support maintaining services, such as the tax measure recently drafted by the County.
Your LCEA board is cautiously optimistic that the County is ready to begin the real work of getting the job done.
Negotiations Update
Sunday, March 04, 2018
Negotiations Update
Bargaining Update
On February 28th 2018, your Negotiations team consisting of Joe Wildman our Business Representative, James Scott & Barb Cole for Unit 3, Cindy Silva and myself for Unit 4, Dave Hendrick and Tom Cain for Unit 5 met with the County’s Negotiations Team, County Administrative Officer Carol Hutchinson and Attorney Margaret Long for the first time in anticipation of a Successor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the contract expiring September 30th 2018 (the revised MOUs for Units 3 & 5 were ratified by the board on February 27th 2018). As soon as I get an electronic copy of the final documents, I will get it uploaded to the www.lcea.info website for all to view.
The first meeting was energetic and positive. Several considerations were presented, with the first being that James Scott (your soon-to-be new Vice President) and I, will be attending a County Classification and Compensation Committee meeting on Friday March 9th 2018 to discuss the employees’ perspective on County pay/compensation as well as recruitment and retention.
NOTE: It’s incredibly important that we hear from all of you ASAP! What about pay/compensation and recruitment/retention do you want discussed? As long-term employees of Lake County, James and I could always come to our own conclusions about what is important but this isn’t about us individually, it’s about all County Employees in Units 3, 4 & 5 and a rare opportunity for you to speak anonymously (through us) to the County about these vital issues!
You can reach us as follows: Vanessa Mayer by email at President@lcea.info or (707) 350-0098 or James Scott by email at VicePresident@lcea.info or (707) 245-4962
In addition, we discussed the need for collaborative drafting of the nonfinancial components of the contract first, so that necessary changes are realized before we begin discussing financial matters.
We meet next with the County on May 10th 2018, with both teams bringing initial proposals to the table. I think we can all agree there is a lot of work yet ahead, but I also think you have a fantastic negotiations team who is knowledgeable and prepared to get the job done.
Sincerely,
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
President@lcea.info
Update #1, Units 3, 4, 5
Monday, January 22, 2018
To our members,
On Friday 1/20/2017, your Negotiations team met with the County for the first time in anticipation of the successor agreement for our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which expired on 12/31/2016.
Your team was represented by James Scott and Sheila Roseneau for Unit 3, Cindy Silva-Brackett and myself for Unit 4, Dave Hendrick for Unit 5 as well as Operating Engineers Local #3 (OE3) Business Representative Joe Wildman. We could still use another member to represent Unit 5 so if you are interested, please contact me for more information. The County was represented by Margaret Long with PLE Law Firm, Chief Administrative Officer Carol Huchinson and Human Resources Director Kathy Ferguson.
On Friday, we agreed to ground rules and set dates into April 2017 for forthcoming meetings. We are cautiously optimistic that Negotiations will be concluded in April, but your team is prepared to go further if warranted.
In an effort to provide full transparency, I will continue to provide updates as things progress but please know that some details must remain confidential as required by law. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me or Joe Wildman at jwildman@oe3.org.
Thank you.
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
president@lcea.info
Update #2 Units 3, 4, 5
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
To our members,
Today on March 8th 2017, your Negotiations team met with the County for the second time in anticipation of the successor agreement for our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which expired on 12/31/2016.
Today the County gave us part of their opening proposal.
We gave them our opening proposal.
Suffice to say, the two proposals are drastically different.
We are requesting that the County provide their financial information for us to review before the next meeting. We anticipate meeting with them again on March 29th, 2017.
In an effort to provide full transparency, I will continue to provide updates as things progress but please know that some details must remain confidential as required by law. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me or Joe Wildman at jwildman@oe3.org.
Thank you.
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
president@lcea.info
Update #3, Units 3, 4, 5
Monday, April 03, 2017
Your Negotiations team met with the County for the 3rd time on March 29th, 2017 in anticipation of a successor agreement to the MOU expiring on December 31, 2016.
The County supplied some additional information on their proposal and LCEA answered some of the Counties' questions on our proposal.
LCEA requested some additional time to review the Counties' financial information which was provided to LCEA shortly prior to the meeting.
We scheduled our next meeting with the County on April 26th 2017.
In an effort to provide full transparency, I will continue to provide updates as things progress but please know that some details must remain confidential as required by law. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me or Joe Wildman at jwildman@oe3.org.
Thank you.
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
Update# 4 Units 3, 4, 5
Thursday, May 11, 2017
To our members,
Your Negotiations team met with the County again on May 10th, 2017 in anticipation of a successor agreement to the MOU expiring on December 31, 2016.
The April 26th 2017 meeting was cancelled to allow LCEA time to review the County's financial information which spanned roughly 500 pages of content.
LCEA had many questions on the County's financial information and some of our answers were provided by the County at the May 10th meeting.
At this time, the County hasn't provided a proposal worth putting before the membership for a vote. We are preparing a counter-proposal.
We are scheduled to return to the table with the County on May 24th & June 7th 2017 where we plan to provide our counter-proposal and follow-up on the remaining questions to be answered.
If you do not yet have a rubber ducky to display in solidarity with your Negotiations team please shoot me an email! You do NOT have to be a Union Member to receive a ducky and show your support for the Negotiations team!
In an effort to provide full transparency, I will continue to provide updates as things progress but please know that some details must remain confidential as required by law. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me or Joe Louis Wildman at jwildman@oe3.org.
Thank you.
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
president@lcea.info
Update #4 (addendum) for Units 3, 4, 5
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Addendum to Bargaining Update#4
Please note that LCEA did NOT have a negotiations meeting today. Our next Negotiations meeting is scheduled for June 7th 2017. I apologize for any confusion.
Sincerely,
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
Update#5 Units 3, 4, 5
Wednesday, June 07, 2017
To our members,
Your Negotiations team met with the County again on June 7th, 2017 in anticipation of a successor agreement to the MOU expiring on December 31, 2016.
LCEA submitted a Counter-proposal which was discussed with the County at length.
The County withdrew several objectionable proposals and others were tabled for discussion at the next meeting. Some staff will be offered an opportunity in the near future to complete a survey which will help us in understanding the true impact of certain discussion topics.
We are scheduled to return to the table with the County on June 28th 2017 where the County will respond to our counter-proposal and where we will follow-up on the remaining topics to be discussed.
If you do not yet have a rubber ducky to display in solidarity with your Negotiations team please shoot me an email! You do NOT have to be a Union Member to receive a ducky and show your support for the Negotiations team!
In an effort to provide full transparency, I will continue to provide updates as things progress but please know that some details must remain confidential as required by law. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me or Joe Wildman at jwildman@oe3.org.
Thank you.
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
president@lcea.info
Update#6, Units 3, 4, 5
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Please note that we did NOT meet for Negotiations on 6/28/2017 (as previously indicated). The County needed more time, and so (as far as I know) the next Negotiations meeting is set for 8/2/2017.
Update #7, Units 3, 4, 5
Tuesday, August 01, 2017
Negotiations Update!
Negotiations has been postponed again to 9/20/2017 at the request of the County.
In addition, we found that there have been some technical difficulties on the scheduling end which should be resolved now.
Thanks for your patience. More to follow, stay tuned...
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
Update #8, Units 3, 4, 5
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Please note that Negotiations have been postponed AGAIN at the behest of the County to October 4th 2017. The last time we met was June 7th 2017. We are not particularily satisfied with the reason given for the delay as it is the same reason given for previous delays.
We don't know yet if the technical issue has been resolved either as we have not yet received an appointment from the County.
There are rumors circling that the board has approved raises for specific employees in 3 distinct departments. While those rumors are true, LCEA wants to make it clear that we would never inhibit raises for any specific department. We also profoundly support and work dilligently to obtain raises for ALL our represented County employees!
With that in mind, we expect the County to follow the proper protocol and look forward seeing this new offer at the Negotiations table.
As always, please know that we continue to negotiate in good faith and we eagerly look forward to a long awaited proposal from the County on October 4th 2017.
Courts Negotiations Update!
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Courts Negotiations Update!
Your Negotiations team for Unit A consisting of Mary Martinez, Victoria Adams and Business Representative Joe Wildman have been hard at work negotiating a successor agreement of the MOU for unit A beginning October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2020.
As a result of their efforts, on August 17th, Unit A, reached tentative agreement with the Courts and voted the contract in on September 7th!
Some highlights (whole successor agreement to be posted):
*multi-year contract
*increases toward employee health insurance premiums paid by the Courts
*2% salary increase each year of the contract in October starting in 2018
Please give Congratulations to our brothers and sisters in the Courts for a job well done!
Thank you,
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
Update #9, Units 3, 4, 5
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
The County has provided their Last, Best, and Final Offer. We are NOT in a tentative agreement.
LCEA has scheduled a Special Voting Meeting on October 25th 2017 at 6PM at the Board of Supervisors Chambers in Lakeport. Check your email for additional details.
Update #10, Units 3, 4, 5
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Please note that the LCEA Board is aware that some County employees will be scheduled to work late next week during our Special Voting Meeting on October 25th 2017.
In an effort to accomodate everyone. We will run the meeting until 9pm so that anyone wanting to come by and cast their vote in person that night may do so.
I'm very sorry but due to the strict timeframes we must meet with this vote, absentee ballots will not be accepted.
If there is enough interest - we could arrange a time earlier in the day on the 25th where we could have someone there to accept votes at the Court House.
Thank you,
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
Update #11, Units 3, 4, 5
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
The results are in on the vote to ratify the last, best, and final from the County:
Unit 3 - No
Unit 4 - No
Unit 5 - No
Thank you to everyone that showed up and voted!
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
Update #12, Units 3, 4, 5
Saturday, December 02, 2017
County Employees,
The Negotiations Team met again with the County on November 22, 2017 to discuss the next steps following the failure of the County's last, best, and final proposal in a vote of the membership for Units 3, 4 and 5. At the meeting, the County verbalized an intent (long overdue) to work with LCEA on behalf of County employees to resolve compensation issues.
Following receipt of a revised offer from the County, and due to concerns originally raised by members about their inability to vote due to the Sulphur Fire, LCEA decided to offer the revised proposal for a vote of the membership. The contract language of the new offer is exactly the same, which means that nothing has changed in terms of financial benefit to County employees. However, there was some change to their intent language, which could be promising.
The vote will occur by mail (we will inter-office all union members a ballot and a copy of the revised offer) and there will be an opportunity for any non-member to join before the ballots are cast. Any eligible employee who wants to join may do so by contacting our Secretary Crystle Williams at Secretary@lcea.info or (707) 995-4304.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER THE VOTE?
A PASSING VOTE means that the County’s revised last, best, and final offer will be incorporated into a Successor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the period October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018 with the Negotiations Team returning to the table with the County to Negotiate a new successor agreement in February 2018.
A FAILING VOTE means a multitude of different possibilities with the potential for a long legal process where both parties may be required to appear before the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB). If you have questions about this process, please feel free to contact our Business Representative Joe Wildman at
(707) 653-3162 and he would be happy to discuss them with you.
IMPORTANT
If you are joining and WANT TO VOTE,
you must contact our Secretary Crystle Williams at Secretary@lcea.info or (707) 995-4304 to get an application!
We must receive your application BEFORE close of business on
Friday, December 15th 2017
If you have questions you may contact the Negotiations Team as follows:
Joe Wildman (707) 653-3162, James Scott (707) 263-1164 ext. 118, Barb Cole phone (707) 995-4336,
Vanessa Mayer (707) 350-0098, Cindy Silva (707) 263-1090, Dave Hendrick (707) 245-5121.
I absolutely understand the inconvenience of this (unprecedented) 2nd vote on a last, best, and final proposal. However, it is our hope that this new vote will reflect a clearer measure of the will of the membership.
Sincerely,
Vanessa Mayer
LCEA President
(707) 350-0098
president@lcea.info
