City Employees OK 3-Year Wage Boost

The Simi Valley city employees’ union has ratified a three-year contract that would give its 260 members an overall 8.33% increase in wages and benefits, the union’s executive director said Friday.

Members of Service Employees International Union Local 998 voted 96 to 31 Thursday night to approve the contract for employees ranging from secretaries and mechanics to computer operators and planners, said union head Barry Hammitt.

“The contract is very positive from the standpoint that there were no takebacks and no givebacks,” Hammitt said. “So everything is very positive and moves forward.”

The union originally asked for a 5% per-year increase in salaries alone, Hammitt said.

But the basic wage package--a 1.5% raise next fiscal year, 1.5% in fiscal year 1997-98 and 1.25% in 1998-99, keeps pace with inflation, he said.

The new contract also gives members a one-time $200 salary payment on July 8, plus increases in health coverage on dental and vision plans. And it resolves some concerns that employees had about reimbursements for buying work uniforms, Hammitt said.

The Simi Valley City Council is scheduled to take a final vote on the contract Monday night.