Salud Carbajal pickets alongside Solvang city workers on ninth day of strike

Striking Solvang city workers got a boost of support Wednesday, when Rep. Salud Carbajal joined them on a picket line.

“I’m here in solidarity,” the Santa Barbara Democrat said. “There’s always a solution. I’m always in search of a win-win-win.”

Motorists honked as Carbajal shook hands and waved. The workers—a fixture along Mission Drive at Solvang Park since the labor dispute erupted—pressed their case for higher wages for a ninth straight day.

At its core, the dispute boils down to disagreement over pay raises. Stung, they say, that senior City Hall leaders have received 20% to 40% increases over the past two budget cycles, the workers in June rejected a city offer of 4% raises over three years.

Negotiations deteriorated further last week when city leaders rejected a union offer of a 4% raise this fiscal year followed by 6% raises in each of the next two years.

In other words, the two sides were effectively 2% apart.

In a phone call prior to arriving, Carbajal said he notified Solvang Mayor David Brown he’d be in town.

City leaders on Wednesday said they appreciated the visit.

“The city welcomes Rep. Carbajal’s encouragement for the parties to come together, which is also the city’s own goal—a fair agreement that returns everyone to work for our community,” Olivia Uribe-Mutal, assistant to the city manager, said in a statement. “The city remains ready to reach an agreement.”

Last week, Brown pointed to Santa Barbara County government employee layoffs that happened in July.

“I don’t want to lay anybody off,” Brown said Thursday. “But don’t put me in that position.”

Carbajal arrived at the park at 2:20 p.m. and stayed for nearly an hour. His District Director Erica Reyes accompanied him, and she also joined the picket line.

Thirty workers, roughly 75% of the Solvang municipal staff, represented by Teamsters Local 986 are off the job.

Community Services Officer Jennifer Calbillo, who handles code enforcement, described Carbajal’s visit as a boost on a 96-degree Santa Ynez Valley afternoon.

“The heat doesn’t matter as much,” she said. “It makes us want to come out here more.

“We’re not asking for a lot,” Calbillo said. “We deserve what we’re asking for.”

While Uribe-Mutal said the city had no new developments to report, Teamsters representative Jeff Lee said no bargaining had taken place since the strike began.

The union hoped to see some movement this coming Monday if not sooner, Lee said. The City Council is scheduled to discuss the labor dispute in a 5 p.m. closed session.

To date, city leaders have maintained the workers are already well paid.

In comments to the council last week, City Manager Randy Murphy said Solvang has provided strong cost of living adjustments and good benefits in recent years. He pointed to a city-funded wage study that compared Solvang to 11 jurisdictions including Buellton, Lompoc and Santa Maria.

“The city benefit package makes up a more significant percentage of total compensation than that of comparable agencies,” Murphy said, adding the unionized city workers earn on average $75,000 a year and receive a benefits package worth on average $38,000 a year per employee.

In addition, Murphy said the city has struggled to hire employees into higher roles despite significant wage increases, because base pay plus overtime sometimes exceeds salary pay.

On the high side, a Solvang employee can make nearly $18,000 a year in overtime. A number of employees routinely earn $5,000 a year in overtime, Murphy said.

“They are not poorly paid,” Murphy told the council. “Offering anything close to what they have until very recently demanded is not fiscally sound.”

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