The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved a “temporary emergency worker” classification to make it easier to hire workers needed in the midst of the current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The vote came after some public commenters accused county officials of trying to get around certain union hiring criteria, saying hired temps would not have union protections. The lowest end of the $12- to $35-an-hour pay scale was called “poverty wages” by one commenter, Miles Parker.
Parker also said such wages and lack of protections amount to taking advantage of workers made desperate by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You would be no better than profiteers in the private sector,” he said.
Another person favored bringing in National Guard personnel to fill emergency roles over hiring people under the county’s proposed terms. A third said anyone hired should be hired for a permanent position, and not temporary.
County officials countered that they need to be able to hire workers quickly to replace or augment other workers who fall sick, must be otherwise quarantined or who are reassigned to COVID-19-response-related duties.
With events bringing on almost daily changes and pivots, the emergency hiring needs to happen quickly.
County Administrator David Twa told the supervisors he and his staff should have reached out more effectively to county employee unions.
Twa said the emergency workers would not be replacements for union workers, and that the classification isn’t meant to harm the unions. And he isn’t sure such workers will be hired anyway.
“There’s no intention here not to use our (existing) employees to the extent possible,” Twa said. “If we absolutely have to use it, we don’t want to have to wait.”
11 comments
Wow, this is insane! People are losing their damn minds!!
Better to lose their minds than their lives.
This is the most serious health threat in a century. Don’t be an ass. Under your take millions will die…so long as you’re not inconvenienced?? We’re sheltering in place to return to normalcy sooner (June??) rather than later (Sept.???Oct?? Jan.’21) Bay Area has been doing a good job. Be a part of the solution. make a positive contribution to society in your actual, real life…and not the damage to humanity you espouse here.
@Urban Spaceman, I should’ve clarified what I think is insane:
A person favored bringing in National Guard personnel to fill emergency roles over hiring people under the county’s proposed terms.
Insane.
A third said anyone hired should be hired for a permanent position, and not temporary.
Again, insane.
Lack of protections amount to taking advantage of workers made desperate by the COVID-19 pandemic.
12- to $35-an-hour pay scale was called “poverty wages” by one commenter, Miles
Awful.
Why? For 32 individuals that are hospitalized? ( I’m wishing them the best) .
But seriously?
I used to work for the county. Although there are definitely good county employees, they make up only about 20% of the workforce. Of course, they do 80% of the work.
This shelter in place an extended sick leave is a present to most county employees who collect a check and do little work. Now they are doing no work.
Hiring more permanent employees is just a bad idea. The county is already a featherbed for so many. Why add to it?
20% of the workers do 80% of the work. That is 100% true. County workers are slackers. Ever been to the DMV? There’s a perfect example of civil servant.
If temporary, why even hire then? Why not just contract or do 1099? I’m sure there are plenty of qualified people who wouldn’t mind working 1099 for a while until their own employer or business picks back up.
Agreed. I would be intersted in doing exactly that if it was offered.
You do can not choose between hiring someone and having them work under a contract(1099). The status is defined by the work they do and how they are managed. This is all defined by the IRS, there has been many a court case to define if someone should be hired versus contract. Look at the recent case concerning Uber and Lyft. Drivers want to be employees for the benefits!!
“Needed worker” yet paying $12 an hour? Poverty wages indeed.
My sister in-law called anything less $25.00 an hour “slave labor” in babysitting her nephew. However, the daycare with full credentials and over 20 years of experiences charged less than half that amount for services. What is poverty wage?
Comments are closed.