I just want to say that I have never been more proud to be a City employee. As your President, I am able to be your voice when speaking to managers and politicians about issues and concerns which affect each and every one of us, and it is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I have been contacted by many of you, and in conjunction with your labor representative Tony Silva and the board, have ensured that your questions and concerns have been addressed to the best of our abilities. I hope I get to meet or communicate with each and every one of you at some point.
If you’re reading this for the first time, here’s a little bit about myself. I’ve worked for the City as a Utility Service Representative since 1990 and have been both President and Secretary of the Association in the past. I have also been on the recent negotiating team as well. As Vice President, I became President at the MOU Ratification Meeting August 28th, 2018, when Maribel Escareno stepped down so she could take a new job in the private sector.
THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE: CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION STUDY
The following should help to dispel any misperceptions you may have about what the Class & Comp Study is, and how it came to be.
True Class and Comp studies are rare here at the City of Fresno. While the City has acknowledged that studies to achieve competitive salaries with outside agencies and employers should be done with much greater frequency than they are, the fact is that the last real Class and Comp study for our classifications, where it was actually implemented, was well over a decade ago, possibly even two decades ago. If you are wondering why they finally got around to it, after we have demanded them time after time for one all these years, was because salaries had sunk so low compared to the marketplace that there were several jobs where they could not get anyone qualified to apply. In short, they had priced themselves right out of the employment marketplace.
In FY19, our members received $974,906 in equity increases, plus an additional 2.5% raise per the MOU.
In FY 20 our members received $867,498 in equity increases, plus an additional 2.5% raise per the MOU.
In FY22, our members received $805,092 in equity increases, plus an additional 3.0% raise per the MOU.
We still have more to go before everyone is making competitive wages. We will be back in talks with the City no later than February of next year (2023) for FY23 equity adjustments. The contract already commits the City to a total increase similar to FY22.
This is a prime example of why we continue to call for people to step up to support Political Action through our PAC and through individual contributions to good candidates we endorse. If you desire to get involved with Political Action then shoot me an email at [email protected] or call me at 559-930-3902.
In summary, I am calling for your continued support as we continue to fight for this multi-year commitment by the City to continue until every underpaid classification is brought up to a competitive salary. Both myself and my team will continue to do our best to get salary increases in the long run for as many people as we can. I think it is the best strategy we can employ at this time. Contact me if you have any ideas of your own on this topic, I would be interested in hearing them and sharing them with the Board.
I look forward to continuing to be your President as we move forward and wish all of you the best as my co-workers and friends.
Sam Frank
