Unions, San Jose Making Progress In Labor Negotiations
SAN JOSE (KCBS) – Labor negotiations covering more than 5,000 San Jose city employees seem to be a little less contentious this time around, as a number of unions have signaled their willingness to make concessions.
That includes the San Jose Fire Fighters Local 230, as Union President Jeff Welch has told the city council that he wants to get a deal done.
"It's a 10 percent total compensation reduction in an ongoing manner, a reduction in minimum staffing, a second-tier retirement for new employees and an opt-in second-tier for active employees," said Welch.
KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:
Brian Doyle with the Association of Legal Professionals expressed a similar sentiment.
"We're very interested in making a deal with the city. We would like to bring this together very soon," Doyle said.
But LaVerne Washington, President of the Confidential Employees' Organization, AFSCME, Local No. 101, the largest union in San Jose, said they were having a hard time figuring how many employees each department has.
"As a resident of the city of San Jose and a representative of city employees, I was shocked by the explanation," she said. "For a city this large, how can anyone know if we are operating efficiently without knowing the actual organizational structure of each department."
San Jose officials are looking to bridge a $110 million budget gap.
(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
