We hope that you and your families are safe, healthy and making the best of these extraordinary times. MEA is here to support you. Please contact MEA staff or a board member if you have any questions, concerns or just need someone to talk with.
We are extremely proud of the contributions our members are making, under unprecedented challenges, to help tackle the public emergency, keep our City’s residents safe and keep City government functioning at a time when citizens most need it,.
We are advocating on your behalf with individual departments and with City government. We have been engaged in a series of emergency meetings with the City to address COVID-19.
COVID-19 has created a colossal public health emergency. An economic crisis is occurring all around the world, including here, in our own Bay Area. Local economic activity has basically shut down.
Consequently, when the City released its 9-month Joint Budget Report this week, it showed dismal projections for the City’s Fiscal Year 2020-2021 budget. The City Controller, the Mayor’s Budget Director, and the Board of Supervisors’ Budget Analyst ran two different scenarios.
· The first “more limited impact” scenario projects a sharp six-month recession before the local economy bounces back to pre-COVID-19 levels. Under this scenario, a $528 million budget deficit is projected for Fiscal Year 2020-2021.
· The second “extended impact” scenario projects the economic impacts of COVID-19 extending well into calendar year 2021. Under this scenario, a $779 million budget deficit is projected for Fiscal Year 2020-2021.
Unfortunately, under either scenario, the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 MOU increases will each be delayed by six-months. Recall that under the MOU, you are due to receive a 3% salary increase effective July 1, 2020 and a further 0.5% effective December 26, 2020. However, the MOU also provided the following language: “except that if the March 2020 Joint Report … projects a budget deficit for fiscal year 2020-2021 that exceeds $200 million, then the base wage adjustment … will be delayed by approximately six (6) months.”
THIS MEANS THAT THE 3% PAY INCREASE WILL BE DELAYED UNTIL DECEMBER 26, 2020 AND THE 0.5% INCREASE WILL BE DELAYED UNTIL CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON JUNE 30, 2021.
The MOU also provides for raises of 3% in July 2021 and 0.5% in January 2022. Those raises are not affected by the new budget projections—yet. However, if the budget impacts of COVID-19 continue into next calendar year, and similarly adversely affect Fiscal Year 2021-2022 budget projections, the same six-month delay language would apply.
We understand that many of you will be disappointed by this news. It is important to note, however, that the raises are delayed, not cancelled. We encourage each of you to keep striving to represent our Departments and the City to the best of your ability during this crisis. The contributions of MEA members are critical to getting our City back up on its feet.
Please stay safe and please let us know if you have any questions.
Your MEA staff,