Dear AFT Guild Classified Professional Members,
I am pleased to announce this year’s Resource Allocation Formula (RAF) distributions just in time for the holidays!
A historic component to this round of allocations is a significant increase in the minimum wage for our lowest paid employees throughout the District to ensure they earn a living wage here in San Diego. Using data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator for the San Diego area, we reached agreement with the District acknowledging that the minimum living wage for a single wage earner is currently $22.31/hour, and for a family of two adults with two children the minimum living wage is $30.58/hour.
Consequently, all NANCE salaries will be raised to ensure none are less than $22.31/hour, and all contract salaries for all bargaining units throughout the District will be increased to at least $30.58/hour, or equivalently, $5,300.53/month.
Acting Chancellor Greg Smith deserves a lion’s share of the credit for these landmark achievements as we would not have reached this settlement without his vision, leadership, and dedication to putting words into practice to ensure equity gaps are reduced wherever they are encountered.
This settlement will also have far reaching implications outside of the SDCCD. Just as non-union workers always benefit due to the gains of strong union settlements in their same industry, having the SDCCD, one of the largest employers in the County, set this new floor as the minimum living wage for workers in San Diego will put pressure on other employers in the region, both public and private, to do the same for their workers. That is what makes this settlement truly historic and we should all be extremely proud to be leading the way here in San Diego.
Other highlights of our settlement include:
- A 4.00% across the board salary increase;
- A one-time bonus equal to 5.54% of all gross earnings earned during the period July 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023 paid out on the March 31, 2024 pay cycle;
- A longevity bonus for all unit members with 20 years or more of contract service to the District;
- An increase in the vacation allowance for unit members with 5-10 years of service from the current 17 day/year to 19 days/year;
- A $100,000 augmentation to our retiree healthcare fund to ensure retirees with 15 or more years of service who retire between the ages of 55-64 will have their medical, dental, and vision fully funded until their 65th birthday;
- An increase in the overtime rate for overtime worked in excess of 12 hours to double-time from time and one-half.
The complete details of the settlement are set forth below, and the updated salary schedule, effective January 1, 2024, is attached.
Please keep an eye out for your electronic ratification ballot coming to your inbox from: “AFT Guild Local 1931” <invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com>. Your AFT Guild Executive Council emphatically recommends a “Yes” vote on this package. Voting deadline will be this Friday, December 15th, at 3:00pm.
I want to again thank Acting Chancellor Greg Smith and the People, Culture, and Technologies Staff who worked hard on nailing down all the cost-outs necessary to make this settlement possible. I additionally want to acknowledge and extend my gratitude to the efforts of our AFT Guild Executive Council officers who contributed their time and energy to create and then bring this package to fruition.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your continued support of your Union!
In Solidarity,
Jim
Jim Mahler, President
AFT Guild, Local 1931
Settlement Details. All changes will become effective January 1, 2024 unless otherwise noted:
1) 4.00% across the board salary increase.
2) One-time bonus equal to 5.54% of all gross earnings earned during the period July 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023 paid out on the March 31, 2024 pay cycle.
3) Define the monthly minimum living wage for contract employees as follows: $30.58/hour X 40 hours/week X 52 weeks/year ÷ 12 months/year = minimum monthly living wage of $5,300.53.
4) Increase the minimum monthly living wage for all unit members to $5,300.53 by deactivating (“shading”) all salary schedule steps which are below this level following the application of the 4.00% increase.
5) Reallocate all classification ranges 1-13 to range 14. Place all unit members in a classification reallocated to range 14 on step L.
6) Move all unit members on ranges 14 and above who are currently on a salary step less than the monthly minimum wage of $5,300.53 to the step equal to or greater than $5,300.53 of the same salary range.
7) Create a longevity bonus for all unit members with 20 years or more of contract service with the District equal to the formula $7.80 per month per year of service. Example: a unit member with 30 years of service would receive $7.80/month X 30 years of service = $234/month. Add this language to Article 6.22 of the Classified Professionals CBA.
8) Increase the vacation allowance from 17 days/year to 19 days/year for employees with years of service from 5-10. Update Article 10.3.2 of the Classified Professionals CBA accordingly to reflect this change.
9) Increase the overtime rate of pay to double time for overtime worked in excess of 12 hours per day. Update Article 5.14.2 of the Classified Professionals CBA accordingly to reflect this change.
10) Ongoing $100,000 annual increase to the AFT Classified Professionals Retiree Healthcare Fund. $50,000 to be added on 1/1/2024, $100,000 to be added on July 1, 2024 and every July 1 thereafter.