While the budget remains tight, Santa Cruz county received an extra influx of money last year from doctors voluntarily contributing their electronic health record incentive moneys. UAPD believes part of that money should be directed towards the doctors’ next contract. However, management has proposed significant takeaways in retiree health care and no pay increases. Doctors are settling in for a fight.
These are among the first UAPD negotiations to take place after the implementation of AB 340, the bill that imposed pension cuts on many of the state’s public sector employees. Most of those cuts apply only to those hired after January 1, 2013, and UAPD is eager to negotiate something to balance those losses in Santa Cruz County. In addition to working at the bargaining table, UAPD is reviewing legislation that would help mitigate the pension losses felt by new hires.