008 Bargaining Update
- UPE
- Jun 18, 2025
- 2 min read
Today the County sent a misleading email to all 008 Bargaining Unit members regarding negotiations. The message falsely suggests that members will receive a 6.3 % salary increase in the first year. This is not true. Under the County’s proposal, a majority of Bargaining Unit members will see their base pay rise by only 2.8 % in the first year—not 6.3 %. Total compensation is not the same as base pay; it includes money that not everyone receives, and even the County’s contribution to your retirement.
The County also claims that employees slated for a 2 % market adjustment will receive an 8.3 % increase in total compensation. In reality, this translates to a 4.8 % increase to base pay and applies to about 40 % of the Bargaining Unit.
Likewise, the so-called 13.3 % increase is actually 9.8 %—and it applies to only about 17 % of the Bargaining Unit, excluding all Social Workers and Family Service Workers in CPS.
Finally, the 1.5 % longevity increase at 10 years affects roughly 35 % of employees. The County’s deferred-compensation proposal is another false promise: to receive the match, employees must defer 2 % of their own pay, effectively reducing take-home pay by that amount. Employees need larger paychecks, not smaller ones.
Intentionally absent from the County’s email was the list of take-aways it included in its last, best, and final offer. These County proposals include:
Removing all limits on the County’s ability to change health-plan offerings, allowing unilateral increases to co-pays and even premiums.
Reducing the number of relatives covered by bereavement leave.
Making it easier for the County to contract out work normally performed by Bargaining Unit members.
Limiting members’ ability to strike.
Eliminating Special Skills classifications.
Making it harder to qualify for overtime when using CTO for time off.
Eliminating the Workload Policy Board.