(from left) Shop Steward Angela Wynne and tellers John Daniel and Gustavo Lopes tally votes.
After a few months of ad hoc negotiations regarding health insurance costs, IBEW Local 1245 members at the City of Lompoc ratified a two-year extension to the current MOU on December 19, 2016. The final vote tally was 110 “yes” and 25 “no.” The new MOU extension is slated to be approved when the Lompoc City Council goes back in session in January.
With this agreement, the City and the Union took a different approach to normal salary compensation. Instead of a wage increase based on percentage of each member’s pay, the City and the Union agreed on a .72-per-hour ($125/month) across-the-board wage increase for 2017 and 2018, which means that members at the bottom of the salary scale will receive a higher percentage, relative to salary, than those at the top. The two-year agreement will be in effect from 2017-2019, but the Union also secured a six-month inclusion prior to the end of the current MOU. This means that members will start receiving their salary adjustments on December 24, 2016 — six months before the current MOU ends on June 24, 2017 — adding more compensation to the current MOU.
Lompoc Unit Chair Gary Silbaugh and Treasurer Isaac Rodriguez
The City will meet with the Union in order to address salary compactions in two IBEW classifications, as well as salary inequities for the Line Clarence Crew in Urban Forestry Division and the Water Treatment Operators. The City will also meet and confer with the Union in case the health insurance premium goes up more than $125 per month in the family plan during 2018.
Members of the negotiation team were members Gary Silbaugh and Bobby Garcia, along with IBEW 1245 Business Rep Jaime Tinoco and Senior Assistant Business Manager Ray Thomas.
–Jaime Tinoco, IBEW 1245 Business Rep