The Continuing Effort to Obtain a Salary Adjustment for PECG-Represented Supervisors and Managers
May 3, 2012

Dear Colleague,

PECG’s Supervisory Meet and Confer Team met again yesterday with the Director of the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) and are continuing our efforts to obtain a long-overdue inequity adjustment for PECG-represented supervisors and managers. As DPA has consistently supported the increase, it is frustrating to all of us that it has not yet occurred. The problem has been the unwillingness of the current and previous Governors to support the increase. Our previous emails to you have described our activities. As we move forward to increase these efforts, let’s take a look at where we are and how we got here, as well as briefly address the lawsuit that some private attorneys are encouraging supervisors to contribute toward.

Bargaining Unit 9 employees, the folks you supervise, have bargaining rights established by law under the Dills Act. When PECG and DPA reach agreement after negotiations, the labor contract (Memorandum of Understanding or MOU) takes effect when it is approved by the Legislature and the Governor.

Supervisors are covered under a different law which provides meet and confer rights. DPA must give consideration to PECG’s proposals but there is no obligation to “endeavor” or try to reach agreement, nor is there a formal contract. Thus, obtaining raises (or other benefits) for supervisors is a more informal process.

State law (Government Code Section 19826) says DPA “shall establish and adjust salary ranges” for supervisors. It is “based on the principle” of like salaries for comparable duties and responsibilities. Also, “consideration shall be given to the prevailing rates for comparable service in other public employment and in private business.” Any salary increase shall “require” an appropriation of funds, typically in the State Budget.

Who has “comparable duties and responsibilities”? The first place to look might be other state supervisors. However, you and other PECG-represented supervisors are paid more than your counterparts elsewhere in state service. From 2005 to 2007, you received pay raises totaling 38.1%, reflecting the same increase that PECG negotiated for Unit 9 Seniors. Those parity salary increases addressed the salary lag with our public sector colleagues and allowed state agencies to retain staff. For supervisors and managers, the salary lag has not been eliminated as the 2008 parity increase has not yet been paid. During that same time period, most other state supervisors received 7% raises. Actually, one such group of supervisors obtained a DPA finding that they should receive a pay increase to rise to your salary level, although that has not yet been implemented.

Who else has “comparable duties and responsibilities”? Some of you are in the same classifications as Unit 9 Seniors and some others are in so-called “parallel” classifications. As those Unit 9 Seniors are paid 10.1% more than you, PECG has sought to obtain that same increase for you since 2008. This argument is further bolstered by the PECG/DPA Salary Survey which shows that supervisors in California’s local agencies (“other public employment”) are paid 10.1% more than you.

DPA has not formally declared that the “comparable duties and responsibilities” principle has been met but it has strongly supported the inequity adjustment for you since 2008. The problem has been the Governor’s Office, its Department of Finance (DOF), and the backdrop of continued unprecedented State Budget deficits.

A raise requires a willingness by the Administration to provide a salary increase and money in the State Budget to do so. The Legislature appropriates funds in the budget, and PECG has been and is working with the Legislature to provide funds this year for the pay increase, but the Governor can “blue pencil” or veto such funds.

PECG has asked DPA to make a formal finding or determination that your salaries should be at least the same as Unit 9 Seniors because your responsibilities are at least comparable to the work they do. While such a finding would not directly result in a pay raise, it could help in the effort to persuade the Governor and DOF to provide for the increase. PECG started the process to obtain such a finding a couple of years ago but it proved to be non-productive and was actually delaying meaningful discussions and efforts to obtain the salary increase. We are currently working with DPA to conclude that the comparable responsibilities principle justifies the 10.1% inequity adjustment for you without getting bogged down in an Administrative Hearing process which, as we saw before, can take years and still not arrive at any conclusion.

At PECG's request, the DPA Director has assigned staff from her Classification and Compensation Division to conduct an analysis of PECG-represented classifications. Again consistent with PECG's recommendations, the analysis is expected to begin with the U09 or "split classifications" where some employees in the classification are assigned to supervisory positions and some are assigned to Unit 9 positions. The CCD staff will analyze the specifications, scope of duties, minimum qualifications, duty statements, and organizational charts and reach a conclusion on whether the supervisory and rank-and-file positions within these classifications are comparable and present their findings for the Director's consideration. This effort is underway and PECG is providing input to DPA.

Thus, in summary, DPA has the authority to set supervisory and managerial salaries but, while the law lists principles and considerations, DPA (whose Director is appointed by the Governor) makes the decision. Any raises must include funding in the State Budget which must be authorized by the Legislature and the Governor. DPA and several departments have been consistently supportive of your pay adjustment, but while it is justified, obtaining a 10.1% increase for supervisors who already received 38.1% raises while other supervisors got 7% has been politically difficult to achieve. However, we will continue our aggressive efforts to persuade the Governor and the Legislature to authorize the increases and the funding to implement them.

On a final note, we understand there are private attorneys contacting some of you, asking you to contribute $900 to $2,500 to pay them to file a lawsuit to obtain the raises. In general, lawsuits can tend to convince the party being sued not to take any action until the matter is resolved in court. Also, a lawsuit asking for a 10% raise for any state employees during a substantial ongoing State Budget deficit would surely generate negative media coverage and publicity.

Because of the discretion the law provides to the Legislature, the Governor, and DPA, PECG has not filed a lawsuit on this issue. However, if anyone believes they have a viable theory for such an action, we urge them to contact PECG. If a lawsuit or any other action could be productive and successful, PECG would pursue it on your behalf. You don’t need to pay an outside attorney to pursue an action which PECG would undertake at no additional cost to you.

As always, PECG appreciates and thanks you for your continuing support during these most difficult times. Be assured we are continuing to do everything we can to represent your economic and other interests.

Sincerely,

Cathrina Barros
PECG Vice President Supervisory

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Update on Inequity Salary Adjustment for PECG-Represented Supervisors and Managers
March 29, 2012

Dear Colleague, 

The Department of Personnel Administration (DPA), Caltrans and PECG have all urged the Governor’s Department of Finance (DOF) to approve an inequity salary adjustment for PECG-represented supervisors and managers. This inequity resulted from Governor Schwarzenegger’s decision in 2008 not to provide the same salary increase to supervisors and higher classifications that was provided to Unit 9 employees. Although the money was appropriated in the 2008-09 Budget for the increase, Governor Schwarzenegger refused to spend it and the inequity has persisted for nearly four years. 

Earlier this year, the Directors of DPA and Caltrans met with DOF Director Ana Matosantos, requesting that the long-overdue salary adjustment (about 10%) be granted for the supervisors and managers. Caltrans would have been able to pay for the increase through salary savings from vacant positions. 

DOF responded in a letter to Acting Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty by denying the request. The letter stated: “In light of the state’s current fiscal challenges, any changes that would result in an increase to employee compensation cannot be supported at this time.” While this blanket refusal for compensation adjustments has been applied by DOF to all state employees regardless of requests made on their behalf, the result is that the pay inequity continues. 

PECG’s Supervisory Meet and Confer Team and the 17 PECG Section Vice Presidents are examining options at this point. Several which will be pursued include the following: 

1. While Caltrans is the only agency which has formally requested the inequity salary adjustments, PECG representatives previously met with several other Department Directors on this issue. We will immediately ask those Departments to pursue similar requests to DOF. PECG members are encouraged to contact your Department Director (or Board or Commission Chair) to seek their active support and endorsement for the inequity increase. 

2. PECG had previously asked DPA to issue a determination in writing that PECG-represented supervisors perform work at least comparable in responsibility to Unit 9 employees who are paid 10% more. DPA initiated a hearing process which quickly proved to be non-productive and delayed further action. In light of the DOF ruling, PECG will again seek DPA’s determination, with or without a hearing, to conclude that PECG-represented supervisors and managers should not be paid less than their Bargaining Unit counterparts. While that will not result in an immediate salary increase, it can provide groundwork for seeking legislative authorization to appropriate the funds in the upcoming State Budget. 

3. PECG will seek legislative authorization for the increases, either during the Budget process or separate legislation. 

4. Many of you currently designated “supervisory” may not actually be supervising three or more subordinates on a full-time basis. Individual claims for appropriate compensation, with PECG representation, may be feasible. More information on this approach will be communicated to PECG members shortly.

These are just the initial reactions to this latest development. As noted above, your PECG representatives are examining other alternatives and will communicate that to you shortly.

Be assured that PECG is as committed as ever to seeking to correct this long-standing pay inequity. Your Meet and Confer Team and other PECG leaders thank you for your continuing support during these difficult times.

Sincerely,

Cathrina Barros
PECG Vice President Supervisory

Pay Parity
April 29, 2011 Message to Supervisors from PECG Supervisory Vice President

Dear Colleague,

In the last few weeks more than 250 PECG members responded to my request to address letters to DPA Director Ron Yank describing the work that you do and asking to receive the same pay parity raise as your Bargaining Unit colleagues received in 2008. It appears that this letter writing campaign has had an impact on the DPA Director to the extent that he acknowledged in a meeting this week with the PECG Supervisory Meet and Confer Team that he fully recognizes the pay parity issue problem and noted that the volume of letters to DPA was truly impressive.

The Director again commented that the lack of a pay increase for supervisors and managers is unfair and is no way to treat members of the management team. He further noted that without a budget in place there is no means to resolve the pay parity issue. He did agree that he would continue to keep the dialogue on this issue open with PECG, despite the budget deficit issue.

The Director also expressed his concern that without the tax extensions (now being called tax renewals) being a part of the budget solution, the potential cuts in all of State services would be massive, and draconian. The Director again affirmed his understanding of this pay parity issue and the impact that it is having on the departments as well as individual employees.

In the meantime, if you haven't written a letter to the DPA Director, I strongly encourage you to do so. It is important that we keep this issue squarely in front of the Director.

Your letters should be addressed to:

Ron Yank, Director
Department of Personnel Administration
1515 S Street Suite 400
North Building
Sacramento, CA 95811-7258
Fax (916) 322-8376

While we didn't reach the ultimate resolution that we are seeking in this meeting, the PECG Team and I want to assure you that we will continue pursuing this issue with DPA and the Administration until we achieve our goal. I want to thank each and every one of you who took time to write a letter to the DPA Director and to tell you how much we appreciate your continuing support of our efforts.

Thank you,

Cathrina Barros
PECG Vice President, Supervisory

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Pay Parity
April 20, 2011 Message to Supervisors from PECG Supervisory Vice President