Sonoma County completes labor negotiations with all 11 unions, steps up efforts to fill vacant positions

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today approved the last of 11 labor contracts up for renewal this year after more than nine months of labor negotiations.

The contracts will boost most employees’ pay by a minimum of 13 percent over three years. The pay increases, combined with new hiring bonuses for some positions, will boost the county’s efforts to attract top talent within the highly competitive Bay Area labor market.

“We’re grateful for the hard work of our labor strategy team and our bargaining units in coming together on these new three-year agreements,” said Supervisor Chris Coursey, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “These packages achieve our goals of investing in our workforce with an emphasis on retention and recruitment while maintaining fiscal discipline. I’m confident that through these agreements, Sonoma County will be able to maintain a high-quality workforce by ensuring our pay and benefits are competitive with counties our size and in our area.”

Approval of successor agreements began on May 9 when supervisors approved a three-year contract with Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents more than half of county workers. In addition to cost-of-living adjustments, the contract included additional salary increases for bilingual employees and workers whose pay is currently below comparable market averages for their positions.

The county finalized the last of the labor union contracts today by approving new agreements with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39 and the Western Council of Engineers. All bargaining units received similar contracts with cost-of-living adjustments of roughly 13 percent over three years.

The board today also approved updates to the Salary Resolution, which sets pay and benefits for approximately 750 workers who are not represented by a labor union.

Meanwhile, Sonoma County is currently recruiting to fill approximately 100 open positions in a variety of full-time, part-time and temporary employment opportunities. A list of open jobs can be viewed at yourpath2sonomacounty.com. The county offers competitive salaries; a comprehensive benefits package including a robust workforce development program; flexible schedules; paid family leave; opportunities to work on innovative and community-centered projects; and recruitment and selection processes that emphasize equitable hiring. Some hard-to-fill positions include hiring bonuses of $10,000 to $30,000.

In February, Forbes magazine named the County of Sonoma one of America’s 500 Best Mid-Sized Employers for the second consecutive year. It was the only government agency in California to make the magazine’s list. Overall, Forbes ranked the county No. 307 among the nation’s 500 best mid-sized employers, which it defined as having 1,000 to 5,000 workers. The full list can be viewed at Forbes.com.

The new Salary Resolution and copies of the new contracts with each union will be posted on the county Employment Relations Division website by early August.

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Media Contact: 
Paul Gullixson, Communications Manager 
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org
(707) 565-3040
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403