Union leaders agree to hold line on wages for county employees

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced a first victory Monday in his push to end — at least for 2011 — the automatic cost-of-living increases that many county employees have enjoyed for years.

The Washington State Council of County and City Employees, which represents nearly 500 King County workers, has tentatively agreed to hold the line on wages.

The outcome of a ratification vote by members of the council, also known as Council 2, will be announced Aug. 27.

"This is about saving jobs," Council 2 President Chris Dugovich said at a morning news conference with Constantine. "We are not going to be the ones to deny that revenues are down, that they have been down."

The county faces serious financial problems next year, he said.

With a projected $60 million shortfall in the 2011 general fund, Constantine announced last month he was freezing his own salary and those of about 150 executive-branch appointees, and was asking unions with expiring contracts or contracts set to be reopened to forgo cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) next year.

The Council of County and City Employees has tentatively agreed to give up its COLA, which for years has boosted pay by 90 percent of inflation, with a floor of 2 percent of pay and a ceiling of 6 percent.

The union, part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, represents District Court clerks, Juvenile Court detention supervisors, probation counselors, custodians and hazardous-waste workers.

"This is a very difficult financial time, and we are pulling out all the financial stops to make sure we are putting King County back on a solid financial footing. Today was a big step," Constantine said.

Constantine has said he wouldn't freeze the salaries of nonunion workers unless union-represented workers also were subject to the freeze.

"I continue to maintain the principle that we want everyone to share in the effort to protect jobs and protect services," he said.

If Constantine succeeds in eliminating COLAs for all general-fund employees whose contracts or COLAs are subject to negotiation this year, the general fund would save $9.4 million, he said.

The County and City Employees agreement would save the county $500,000 to $600,000 next year.

A second union, the Uniformed Command Association, which represents 12 jail captains, announced Monday afternoon its members have become the first in the county to ratify an agreement forgoing a cost-of-living increase next year.

About 85 percent of the county's 15,000 employees are represented by unions. Cost-of-living provisions are up for negotiation for 63 out of 73 bargaining units.

Deputy County Executive Fred Jarrett said county labor negotiators are asking all unions to consider forgoing raises in 2011 — even those that, like the King County Police Officers Guild, aren't required to negotiate this year

"We're talking to everybody. We're hoping everybody will share in the sacrifice," Jarrett said.

Voters will decide in November whether to boost the sales tax by 0.2 cent on a $1 purchase in order to maintain criminal-justice operations and fund replacement of the substandard Youth Services Center courthouse in Seattle.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com