Union members tell Santa Cruz County they are ‘strike-ready’
Since the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors returned from summer recess on Aug. 13, the rhetoric around contract negotiations with county employees’ largest labor union, SEIU 521, has begun to heat up. Both regular supervisors meetings last month drew crowds in purple shirts, pledging union support. What began as public pleas for progress on a new contract escalated to threats of a strike last week.
The county government has been public about its recruitment and retention problems, blaming high vacancy rates — particularly among behavioral health jobs — on challenges in offering competitive salaries, especially compared to Santa Clara County. The county has initiated compensation studies, but it hasn’t been enough to quell unrest among union members, who cite Santa Cruz County being named the most unaffordable rental housing market in the country for consecutive years.
Andrew Simoni, a therapist with the county’s six-person Mobile Emergency Response Team, or MERT, said the county was preparing to launch a 24/7 crisis intervention program without adequate staffing. He accused county officials of taking a “heavy-handed approach” in denying requests for increased pay and rest time.
“My wife and I make significant sacrifices to live here, but I will not sacrifice myself to a program that doesn’t value my time, skill or well-being,” Simoni told supervisors. “I’ve already completed my strike commitment card and will encourage my coworkers to do the same.”
County spokesperson Jason Hoppin said management “continues to bargain in good faith” and hopes to reach an agreement with the union “soon.”
“We think it’s unfortunate that members are filling out strike cards given that, in June, union leadership asked for a one-month to delay to begin negotiations,” he said.
Kevin Cisneros, a former member of MERT who now works in children’s behavioral health, said employees feel overworked, underpaid and undervalued.
“Management and personnel should be ashamed of themselves, and their poor choices to bring staff to the brink of exhaustion have risked community safety,” Cisneros said. “I’m strike-ready.”
SEIU is planning another appearance at the supervisors’ meeting next week for a push before the contract expires on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
OF NOTE
Santa Cruz County Democrats make first round of endorsements
In a county where 60% of voters are registered Democrats, the local party’s preferences tend to hold some sway. In a virtual meeting on Thursday, the Santa Cruz County Democratic Central Committee made its first round of local endorsements for the November general election.
According to committee chair Andrew Goldenkranz, the party has endorsed Kristen Brown over Kim De Serpa for District 2 county supervisor, after a brief Q&A that touched on the rail-trail project, private beach access and coastal erosion.
Endorsements are based on a popular vote by all members of the SCCDCC. Goldenkranz said both candidates are strong, and he wouldn’t have been surprised, or dissatisfied if the party endorsed De Serpa, or went with no endorsement. However, he said he personally voted to endorse Brown because she committed to fulfilling the voters’ will on the rail trail, while De Serpa, he said, appeared to be taking a wait-and-see approach.
“One of the top challenges for the board of supervisors is going to be dealing with housing, and I think [Brown] also has a leg up on that with her municipal experience,” Goldenkranz said. “She understands the different layers of government.”
The committee is also endorsing a “yes” vote on Measure Q (an $87 tax on each parcel of land in the county, with some exceptions, that would fund about $7 million a year in water quality and wildfire resiliency work), Measure Z (Santa Cruz’s 2-cent-per-ounce tax on the sale of sugar-sweetened drinks), Measure Y (Capitola’s sales tax rate increase to 9.25%) and the Watsonville charter amendments, among which include removing a citizenship requirement to serve on the city’s boards and commissions. The committee is recommending a “no” vote on Measure U, a San Lorenzo Valley Water District proposal that would cap regular service charge increases to 2% per year until 2049.
The SCCDCC will meet again on Thursday, Sept. 5, to consider endorsements in the Capitola, Scotts Valley and Watsonville city council races, as well as the San Lorenzo Valley Water District board race.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
North County Dems weigh in on ballot measures: Endorsement season is officially in full swing. Tuesday night at Bruno’s Bar & Grill in Scotts Valley, the North County Democratic Club will meet for an endorsement forum on a set of ballot measures: Measure O (Scotts Valley School District bond), Measure Q (the county water and wildfire protection parcel tax), Measure S (Scotts Valley Fire Protection District bond), Measure T (Zayante Fire Protection District tax), Measure U (San Lorenzo Valley Water District rate increase cap) and Measure X (Scotts Valley business tax). The event will kick off at 6:30 p.m. The group will then convene on Sept. 17 to make candidate endorsements.
Democratic Women’s Club makes its picks: The DWC of Santa Cruz County will gather at 10 a.m. on Saturday inside the Santa Cruz Police Department to decide who and what to back in a slew of races — Capitola, Scotts Valley and Watsonville city councils — and ballot initiatives — Measures Q, X, Y and Z (all mentioned above).
LOOKING AHEAD
Scotts Valley examines a new 100% affordable project: When the Scotts Valley City Council meets Wednesday at 6 p.m., it will review an application for a 100% affordable, 25-unit housing project at 4444 Scotts Valley Dr. known as Beverly Gardens. However, the city council will not be approving the project, but only voting on whether councilmembers support it. The project is going after a state grant aimed at financing affordable housing developments in nine disaster-stricken counties throughout the state, a list Santa Cruz County joined due to the 2020 CZU fire. However, to qualify for the grant, a project needs written support from the jurisdiction where it is proposed. The application deadline is Friday, Sept. 6, at 12 a.m.
Big changes looming for Santa Cruz ADUs: On Thursday, the City of Santa Cruz’s planning commission will vote on two major changes to its accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, rules, both aimed at aligning local regulations with shifts in state law. The commission will consider scrapping a rule that properties with ADUs built before 2020 must be owner-occupied. The owner-occupancy rule was tossed by the state in 2020, but the city didn’t retroactively change its rules for ADUs built prior to the rule change. The planning commission will also consider implementing a state law that allows property owners to sell both their home and the ADU on the property as condos. The planning commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday inside Santa Cruz City Hall.
ONE GREAT VINTAGE READ
Leonard Cohen Makes it Darker by David Remnick, for the New Yorker (2016)
Each year, as we hurtle past Labor Day weekend toward the changing foliage of the fall season, Leonard Cohen always seems to make himself more prominent in my playlists. Whether it’s the stripped-down simplicity of his earliest records, or the raspy, elder poetry of his later efforts, Cohen’s music has a way of gently preparing me to say goodbye to yet another year.
So, consider this reading recommendation a seasonal one. In 2016, the executive editor of the New Yorker magazine, David Remnick, had an opportunity to spend a few days with Cohen in Southern California, fresh off his monastic sojourn atop Mount Baldy, and ahead of his 14th and final studio album release, “You Want It Darker.” Whether it’s Cohen, Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples or Paul McCartney, Remnick has carved out a unique beat profiling the elder statesmen of popular music’s bygone era as they near the end of their careers, and lives. His profile of Cohen paints a man reflecting on the many lives he’s lived, with a clear perspective on lessons learned, disappointments, failures and achievements, both spiritual and worldly.