$3.8 billion state worker contract has special raises for three dozen job classifications

The contract deal Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration recently struck with the state’s largest union will cost the state about $3.8 billion, according to a cost summary CalHR posted to its website Friday.

The SEIU Local 1000 agreement gives workers a 7 percent raise over its three-and-a-half year term and provides $260 per month to those with CalPERS health insurance. The monthly payment, which comes to about $3,100 per year, is equivalent to the average Local 1000 worker’s monthly premium.

The union announced the tentative agreement, which will require approval from members and the Legislature, on Thursday.

The agreement raises the minimum wage for union workers to $15 per hour by next year while boosting extra pay for commutes, for bilingual speakers and for workers who live in some expensive parts of the state. The union represents about 100,000 state workers.

CalHR’s summary identifies about three dozen categories of workers who would receive a 5 percent special salary increase in July. The list ranges from insurance rate analysts and environmental planners to state historians and librarians. Corporation examiners will get a special 10.25 percent raise, according to the summary.

Local 1000 workers will have to contribute an additional half-percent of their pay toward their pensions starting in 2023 under the agreement, according to the summary. That contribution will save the state about $28 million, according to the state’s estimate.

The price tag is lower than the last agreement the union reached with former Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration. That agreement cost $5.2 billion over three and a half years, according to a state summary.