Napa County union employees rally for cost of living boost

More than 100 union members converged on the Napa County Administration building Tuesday, calling on county leaders to approve a new contract that would boost future cost of living increases, which they said is needed to combat rising prices, reduce employee turnover, and fill vacancies.

The rally took place during a lunch break, while the Napa County Board of Supervisors negotiated with Service Employees International Union Local 1021 in a closed meeting. The crowd, dressed in purple, listened to a series of speakers.

The union represents about 1,000 of Napa County’s 1,500 employees.

Negotiations over a new contract have been ongoing since February. The current contract went into effect on July 1, 2022, and is set to expire June 30.

At the rally, local chapter president and deputy public defender Abe Gardner said local housing prices had increased 6.1% in the past year, while county revenue increased 4.1%. During the same year, the wage increase for county employees was 3.25%.

“It gets you maybe halfway there, if you can even find a spot to rent, because there aren’t a lot,” Gardner said “That’s why more than half our members are commuting from outside of Napa to come work for the county. When we say we want to live where we work, that matters, it matters when your neighbors are the ones that you’re helping.”

The county’s most recent proposal, according to the union, includes a 9% cost of living adjustment split over three years. The union is asking for a 6% annual increase.

Gardner said the union employees weren’t asking to get ahead, they just wanted to “keep their heads above water.”

A Napa County spokesperson wrote in an email that “Napa County is in active negotiations with SEIU Local 1021 and the bargaining is being done in good faith.”

You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com.