MEA Contract Negotiations Update

Last month, we updated you (November 20th e-blast) on the MEA Negotiating Team’s efforts related to bargaining a new labor contract effective for July 1, 2020.  Last week, in conjunction with those efforts, MEA’s Team joined General Manager Michael Zucchet at the City Council for a presentation regarding the City’s 5-year budget outlook.  The video of the 15-minute presentation can be viewed by clicking here, playing the video on the left hand side of the screen and skipping ahead to about minute 52.

We encourage you to watch the video when you have time.  The San Diego Union Tribune also followed up with a  story about the Council meeting in today’s newspaper (a copy of that article is attached to this e-blast).

MEA has and will continue to communicate directly with the Mayor and City Council about the compensation disparity for City workers, and the effect of that pay gap on City vacancies, recruitment and retention, and operations challenges.  We also will continue to help educate the public and citizens we serve of the importance of the City’s human capital and the need to invest in it to support essential City services.

As we noted in our earlier e-blast, MEA and the City will exchange economic contract proposals in January, and the negotiations will culminate in early April with either a tentative agreement or an impasse.  Be assured that — with your support — MEA will continue to be aggressive in advocating that the City must move as far and as fast as possible with respect to compensation increases.  We will obviously keep you posted along the way, and thanks to those of you that have reached out to MEA with ideas and proposals.

In the meantime, we hope you have a restful, happy and safe Holiday season.  And here’s to a great 2020!

Labor unions say low pay for San Diego city workers has created