After concessions in 2020, Clark County workers get raises
Clark County and its largest labor union agreed Tuesday on contract through 2024, complete with pay raises and a one-time bonus.
Much like its significantly improved annual budget, the county’s three-year deal with more than half of its workforce is a sign that pandemic-era financial uncertainty is fading out.
The agreement with SEIU Local 1107, representing nearly 6,000 of the county’s some 10,000 workers, is the last labor deal the commission needed to resolve, according to Human Resources Director Sandy Jeantete.
“All the contracts that we brought forward to date reflect county management’s sincere appreciation to all of our employees for their sacrifices, for the concessions that were made during the pandemic,” she said.
Most county employees agreed to cut their hours by 5 percent last summer to save an estimated $33 million. But that reduction will now end July 24. Additionally no employees received cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) last year and county firefighters had given up holiday pay.
SEIU members “overwhelmingly ratified” their new contract through June 30, 2024, according to union President Kevin Carey.
The deal will cost the county $32 million in its first year and between $10 million to $16 million annually over the subsequent two years.
Employees will immediately receive a 2.5 percent COLA and then a 2 percent COLA, according to county documents. Pay raises were also pledged over the subsequent two years in the 2 to 3 percent range annually.
“These agreements do bring a level of stability this bargaining unit (hasn’t) seen since at least 2012,” Carey said.
Workers will also receive a $1,500 one-time lump sum, which is not added to their base pay.
Carey said the deal also increases bilingual pay for the first time in a decade, provides an allowance for employees who buy their own tools and may remove records of suspensions from employee personnel files after three years so workers can move on from mistakes they made early in their career.
Commissioner Jim Gibson called it an “incredible effort” for the county to reach agreements on all of its labor contracts. Last month, the commission approved similar deals with county firefighters, public defenders and prosecutors.
Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.