LAKEPORT – The county and the union representing local in-home care providers have apparently reached an agreement.

A statement issued Tuesday afternoon by the Board of Supervisors said that the board, acting as the Lake County Public Authority's Board of Directors, “is pleased to announce that in negotiations with the County’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) providers, a tentative agreement has been reached today.

“The union will now submit the proposed wages and benefits and other contractual conditions to its membership for a ratification vote,” the board's statement said.

During its morning session the board held a closed session discussion relating to its ongoing negotiations with the California United Homecare Workers, the union that has represented county IHSS workers – whose numbers most recently totaled just under 1,400 – since 2005.

However, newly elected Board Chair Ed Robey made no announcement after the board emerged from closed session.

The specifics of the tentative agreement have so far not been made available.

The board deferred requests for more information to the Public Authority, which did not return a call from Lake County News.

California United Homecare Workers also did not have definitive information for release Tuesday.

The news of a possible agreement comes after a year of tense interactions between the union and the Board of Supervisors.

Last May, the Board of Supervisors asked the state to consider at two-tier pay scale for IHSS providers. The proposal would have given $1 more an hour to top-tier workers for, among other things, agreeing to undergo drug testing.

IHSS providers currently make minimum wage – $8 an hour as of Jan. 1 – and receive no health benefits, as Lake County News has reported.

The union responded by announcing last July that it planned to launch a recall effort of Supervisors Anthony Farrington, Ed Robey, Jeff Smith and Rob Brown.

That announcement came within days of the union stating it planned to launch a similar recall of four members of Imperial County's Board of Supervisors, also over pay and other contractual issues related to IHSS providers.

However, that recall appears to have stopped after the Imperial County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a new contract with the union on Oct. 23, according to a union report.

 

Whether Lake County's recall could similarly, and permanently, end also is not yet known; union officials so far have offered no new statements on their plans.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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