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SLO city, union hit impasse

February 15, 2012

Katie Lichtig

San Luis Obispo city Manager Katie Lichtig announced negotiations with the employees’ union have stalled prompting the city to officially report Wednesday that their bargaining efforts are at an impasse.

As a result, negotiations will transition into a more formal process with required benchmarks and the possibility of the city imposing sanctions on non-safety employees.

City administrators are asking the San Luis Obispo City Employees’ Association to make at least a 6.8 percent reduction in total compensation by either taking a pay reduction or agreeing to pay the employee portion of their retirement compensation, which would amount to an 8 percent compensation reduction. Association President Ron Faria has argued against any employee decrease in pay or benefits.

Even so, several employees told CalCoastNews they prefer to mirror city management and the firefighter’s union and agree to pay the employee portion of their retirement contributions.

These employees argue that if Gov. Jerry Brown’s 12 point pension reform plan is agreed to government employees will be required to pay their own contributions to the state retirement plan regardless of previous salary concessions.


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WHO! SLO asks City EE’s to “to pay the employee portion of their retirement compensation”! How outrageous!! After all why should an employee be responsible for the “…employee portion of their retirement compensation”?


I’m sure the union fat-cats won’t put up with anything so outrageous as that!


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Mr. Slander,

You may be interested in the below link, which calculates the living wage for San Luis Obispo.


http://www.livingwage.geog.psu.edu/places/0607968154


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I am NOT Ted Slanders …but for complete transparency: Where are YOU on the NET WORTH scale , ATWT ?


C’mon BIG SHOT ! Put up or SHUT UP !


Conservatives are SO inferior !


You know it.


We know it.


Everyone knows it, but you keep on pretending like you are equal members of civilization; instead of the dregs of creation from time immemorial.


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What are you talking about? Your farcical response does not even reflect my comment.


And thank you for acknowledging I am a big shot.


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Since Mr. Hampien was the City manager and helped create this mess, and he likes to volunteer his services(City of Bell) since he is such an outstanding manager I would recommend the City fire Katie Lichlig, Mr. Hampien volunteer his time back to the City of SLO for the next year (would cover the cost of the messup of hiring Ms. Lichtig) and Mr. Hampien could use his quality skills to help out our City. Then we could go out and recruit for a City Manager who wants to live in our community, is not overpaid, has speaking skills to go along with outstanding management skills and would be able to work with a new council and mayor that will be elected in November 2012. Everyone would be happy, especially Katie, who could return to her husband and home in Malibu. Everyone would be happy.


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Remember he is not really volunteering, he is receiving his pension. Likley it is very close to what he was making when he was working, he should feel it is the least he can do is help out and allow the taxpayers to get a little somehting out of his outrageous pension


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These employees must be kidding. These are your laborers, clerks, janitors, etc. making $40-50,000 a year plus benefits and they don’t think they are under paid. The problem with all of this is that through no fault of their own they have been overpaid so that top managers can get more and the wheel of pay more to get more quality is just not working anymore. I would suggest these employees look in the paper under “Employment Opportunities” and see if you really want to go look for a new job. Reality has arrived for all of us. Many of us have taken 25%, 30% and yes, even 100% (unemployed) cuts. Everyone must get real in this situation.


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SLOBIRD,


Well, you must be making less than 40-50,000 a year to complain, or you are jealous, of what the employees of SLO on average are making! These amounts are known as a “livable wage” in our area. If these amounts bother you, then just move to , let’s say, McKittrick, Buttonwillow, or Taft, California! In other words, pay amounts are relative, get it?


I am so sorry that you have taken a 25 to a 30 percent pay cut. So, because you have taken this cut, then others are to take it as well to justify your weak argument and make you feel better? LOL


I suggest that YOU look in the “Employment Opportunities” section of our Newspapers, and with your education and experience, get a job that equals more than $40-50,000 per year. Then we don’t have to listen to you whine and complain for those that do make this amount!


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Sounds like you are either a public employee or related to one.


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To SLO City citizens: I looked at how much you pay your city employees, especially the managers. SLO citizens are very generous and must have lots of money to pay such high salaries.


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WHOA, STOP THE PRESSES — there’s been a coup!!! Jan Marx & the rest of the council have been jailed and Katie Lichtig is the new Mayor of SLO!!!


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Thank you. I fixed it.


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I really do appreciate Katie Lichtig’s self-imposed pay cut, but having someone making roughly $300k lead the salary reduction negotiations is perverse.


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WHOA ! ( To coin or at least …borrow a phrase ) …


So, do you think that anyone that collects ( using a term such as ‘earns’ would indeed be perverse ) a sum equal to TEN times the magical poverty rate, or SEVEN times the equally mythical subsistence rate has any IDEA … any IOTA of humanity in their cerebral cortex ?


It is the ILLUSION of power, and the siren song of somnabulent desires that money promises, but never fulfills, that corrupts all that fall prey to their traps.


Hey SLO City Fathers! Give me 1/2 or even 1/4 of what you dole to this ONE INEFFECTIVE lawn ornament.

I could resolve this overnight..


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Funny that Ron Faria is still running that show in the City. I thought he was caught messing up awhile back. Apparently nothing ever came of it. Then again, it’s the City of San Luis Obispo.


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Whoa there “MAD HATTER,” talk like that might cause councilman Ashbaugh to write another opinion piece explaining to us “conspiracy theorists” (in 50,000 words or less) about how there is “no corruption” at SLO city hall. Or worse, make him call Dave Cognalton’s show (again) to assure all of us that there are certainly never, ever, never, ever, never any cover-ups in SLO city government.


You certainly wouldn’t want to go getting yourself branded as a “political activist with an axe to grind” no would you?


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Read my lips…there is no corruption at SLO city hall


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