County Reaches Contract Agreement with Public Employees

Santa Barbara County — a year after imposing a contract on SEIU Local 721, which represents 400 or so county employees — has agreed to a contract with the union similar to one used with other employee groups. The contract, which runs through June 2014, includes no general wage increases for the term of the agreement and a freeze on all merit step increases. The 2011 implementation came after several months of negotiations.