Written Communications – Item 5.6
Sharma – Received 3/ 14/ 25
From: Megha Sharma
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2025 4:07 PM
To: CityClerk < CityClerk@chulavistaca. gov>
Cc: Ailyn Gonzalez
Subject: Chula Vista Mid Managers/ Professional Association MOU and Salary Survey WARNING - This email originated from outside the City of Chula Vista. Do not click any links and do not open attachments unless you can confirm the sender.
PLEASEREPORTSUSPICIOUSEMAILSBYUSING THEPHISH ALERTREPORTBUTTON or to reportphishing@chulavistaca. gov
Dear City Clerk,
Transmitted herewith is the copy of the letter sent on behalf of our client, Service Employees International Union, Local 221, regarding a Memorandum of Understanding MOU”) for the Chula Vista Mid Managers/ Professional Association. We understand that the City of Chula Vista intends to submit a resolution for the City Council to adopt this MOU. I kindly ask that you bring this matter to the attention of Councilmembers to be considered in their next meeting. A hard copy will follow via regular mail. If you have any questions, kindly contact this office.
Thank you
Megha Sharma
Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld
A Professional Corporation
1375 55thStreet
Emeryville, CA 94608
This message contains information which may be confidential and privileged. Unless you are the addressee ( or authorized to receive for the addressee), you may not use, copy or disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in or attached to the message. If you have received the message in error, please advise the sender by reply e-mail to msharma@unioncounsel. net and delete the message.
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1375 55th Street
Emeryville, California 94608
TELEPHONE: ( 510) 337-1001
FACSIMILE: ( 510) 337-1023
Ailyn Gonzalez
[email protected]
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1\1550296
STEWART WEINBERG
DAVID A. ROSENFELD
WILLIAM A. SOKOL
LINDA BALDWIN JONES
ALAN G. CROWLEY
KRISTINA L. HILLMAN
BRUCE A. HARLAND
CAREN P. SENCER
ANNE I. YEN
JANNAH V. MANANSALA
MANUEL A. BOÍGUES
KERIANNE R. STEELE
GARY P. PROVENCHER
EZEKIEL D. CARDER
LISL R. SOTO
JOLENE KRAMER
CAITLIN E. GRAY
TIFFANY L. CRAIN
DAVID W. M. FUJIMOTO
ANDREA C. MATSUOKA
ALEXANDER S. NAZAROV
SEAN W. McDONALD
KATHARINE R. McDONAGH
MAXIMILLIAN D. CASILLAS
WILLIAM T. HANLEY
BISMA SHAHBAZ
MATTHEW J. ERLE
MICHAELA F. POSNER
ALEXANDER M. MILNE
ZACHARY D. ANGULO
JOSEPH T. ADAMIAK
HUGO GARCIA
WINNIE VIEN
AILYN GONZALEZ
SARA J. ZOLLNER
NOREY L. NAVARRO
R. MAXWELL SINCLAIR
MIRANDA MAMMEN
ARDALAN “ ARDY” RAGHIAN
SHANE M. REED
DOMINIQUE ARMSTRONG
MATTHEW C. FERNANDES
JONATHAN S. EZELL
MAX KOHN
COREY A. SHERMAN
OF COUNSEL
ROBERTA D. PERKINS
ROBERT E. SZYKOWNY
ANDREA K. DON
ANTONIO RUIZ
MICHAEL J. HAYES
ASHLEY K. IKEDA
LABOR EDUCATOR
NINA FENDEL ( Retired Attorney)
Admitted in California, unless
otherwise noted
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March 14, 2025
VIA EMAIL
City Council, City of Chula Vista Council
Council Chambers
276 Fourth Avenue
Chula Vista, CA
Email: [email protected]
Re: Chula Vista Mid Managers/ Professional Association MOU and Salary Survey Dear Councilmembers:
This office represents Service Employees International Union, Local 221 (“ SEIU Local 221”), which is the exclusive representativeof City employeesin the Chula Vista Mid Managers/ Professional Association (“MM/ PROF”) bargaining unit. On behalf of our client, we write to inform the Council that the City is unreasonablyrefusing to correct known errors in a salary survey created during successor Memorandum of Understanding (“ MOU”) negotiations with SEIU Local 221. The City’s actions have resulted in severediscrepanciesin salary adjustments for various classifications in the MM/ PROF bargaining unit. We respectfully requestthat the Council instruct the City to correct theseerrors before the Council approvesa resolution to adopt the MOU. Further background is provided below.
The City’s refusal to correct the salary survey is a violation of the MOU. The MOU requires the City to provide equity adjustments, specific to each classification, to bring the classifications to median. In order to determine the salary increasenecessaryto bring classifications to median, the City developeda salary survey comparing MM/ PROF classifications with other relevant classifications. Throughout MOU bargaining the City modified the salary survey, causing inexplicable variations or omissions in the data which lowered the equity adjustment for some classifications. Importantly, the City’s initial salary survey included higher percentageequity adjustmentsfor someclassifications. When the City adjustedthe data in the salary survey to include improper comparatorsand exclude other relevant comparators, this resulted in lower equity adjustment for someclassifications. When the Union confronted the City regarding these variations during bargaining, the City concededthat someof the data utilized was improper and that this caused mistakes in the salary survey. The City agreed to make corrections to reflect the higher percentageequity adjustmentsincluded in the initial salary survey. Many changeswere made, and City representativesexpressedan intent to continue to correct the remaining discrepanciesin the salary survey even once bargaining was concluded. Now, the City is failing to honor this promise, and is refusing to correct the salary study data for the following classifications: Building Project Manager and Senior Information Technology Support Specialist.
As a result, theseclassifications will not be provided with the correct equity adjustment to median asrequired by the MOU.
ity Council, City of Chula Vista
March 14, 2025
Page2
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The City’s refusal constitutes bad faith bargaining. Pursuantto the Meyers-Milias- Brown Act (“MMBA”), the City hasa duty to negotiate in good faith. Regressiveconduct is consideredevidence of bad faith bargaining. Reneging on agreementsand making misrepresentations, asthe City hascommitted here, are examples of bad faith bargaining.
The City must make two (2) corrections to the salary survey to ensurecompliance with the MOU. The City must revert to the data and equity adjustmentsreflected in the initial salary survey. There is currently one (1) Senior Information Technology Support Specialist in the MM/ PROF bargaining unit. The current salary survey indicates a 9.27% equity adjustment for this classification, rather than the original 12.17% equity adjustment. The lower percentagewas causedwhen the City mistakenly included an Information Technology Support Specialist comparator, rather than the appropriate Senior Information Technology Support Specialist comparator. This causeda reduction in the percentageto median. Therefore, the salary survey must be corrected to reflect a 12.17% equity adjustment for this classification, aswas indicated in the initial salary survey. Moreover, there are currently two (2) Building Project Managersin the MM/ PROF bargaining unit. The current salary survey indicates a 9.68% equity adjustment for this classification, rather than the original 16.14% equity adjustment. The lower percentagewas causedwhen the City erroneously removed the relevant Municipal Projects Manager comparator, which causeda significant reduction in the percentageto median and equity adjustment. The salary survey must be corrected to reflect a 16.14% equity adjustment for this classification, as was indicated in the initial salary survey. Please note that the correct
12.17% and 16.14% equity adjustment include the 2% Cost of Living Adjustment that is applicable to MM/ PROF bargaining unit memberspursuant to the terms reachedin the MOU.
SEIU Local 221 requeststhat the Council intervene to ensurethat the City honor its agreementto correct the errors in the salary study asindicated above. Pleasebe advised that if a resolution on this matter is not reached, the SEIU Local 221 will be forced to consider other legal remedies, including, but not limited to, filing a grievance and unfair practice charge with the Public Employment Relations Board (“ PERB”).
We appreciateyour attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Ailyn Gonzalez
AG: ms
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