Milpitas Members Agree to Pay 2.5% toward PERS

Friday, May 29, 2009

MILPITAS - UPEC members in four Milpitas City bargaining units voted to increase their PERS contribution by 2.5% in the hope of preventing layoffs. The City needs $930,000.00 in cuts to help balance the 2009-10 budget shortfall. At least 24 employees have received layoff notices in the past 2 weeks. UPEC Representatives have been working through the layoff hearings this week to ensure the layoff rules have been exercised correctly and to try to place employees in other areas. UPEC Labor Representatives have spent a majority of their time reopening contracts to save jobs all over the northstate and south bay area for the past several months. “We are working with our members and management to keep members employed and provide services to the communities they serve”, stated UPEC Local 792 Business Manager Chris Darker. “Over the past decade UPEC has been working cooperatively with local government on job reclassifications, restructuring, downsizing, and layoffs designed to make government work more efficiently while continuing to provide services. Local government has nothing left to cut but services and employees”, said Darker. The Milpitas City Council meets on June 2nd to vote on the proposed cuts.