County to test unpaid leave plan

The only catch: The extra days off aren’t paid.

County commissioners on Tuesday approved voluntary unpaid leave for workers in a pilot program that will begin today and run through Jan. 23.

This five-week experiment will test employees’ interest in working a shorter week and give county leaders an idea of how much money they can save by offering the furloughs.

“It’s a continuation of our attempt to deal with this economy,” Commissioner Rory Reid said.

Employees who shorten their workweek under this program will suffer no loss in benefits, including medical, vacation, sick leave and seniority.

They can take up to 40 hours of paid leave during the trial period, or an average of one day off per week. Those who work in vital services, such as public safety, are ineligible. There was no discussion of how general services might be affected by the furloughs.

A union leader expressed lukewarm support.

“At this time we feel it’s going to be an individual decision for our members,” said Al Martinez, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 1107.

About 9,500 county workers belong to the SEIU.

Martinez said that unpaid furloughs are nothing new, and that the county should look at every way to improve efficiency and trim costs before it cuts staffing.

“In an economic downturn, we don’t want to have layoffs,” Martinez said.

Last month, at Reid’s request, the SEIU, police and firefighters’ unions met with county officials to announce they would work together to avoid layoffs. No specific strategies were outlined, but Reid praised the unions’ willingness to discuss how they might reduce costs.

Union leaders asked the county to open its books to prove that the budget is strained. County officials expect to hand the financial data to the unions by Friday.

At the previous meeting, Reid declared that everything is on the table, including labor contracts that might be renegotiated. But Martinez said he won’t touch the current agreement, which runs until mid-2010.

He and other SEIU leaders will look at how to cut costs after they’ve studied the county’s finances, he said.

County Manager Virginia Valentine said she had no estimate of how much money the unpaid leave will save. No one will know until the pilot program is finished, she said.

The program must be monitored closely to prevent favoritism and other abuses, Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said. The county also should explore other cost-cutting measures such as early retirement so it doesn’t come across as making a token effort to save money, she said.