Santa Cruz firefighters agree to salary, pension cuts: Unions make key concessions before Measure H election
Santa Cruz firefighters and police officers agreed to new deals with the city on Tuesday. The firefighters agreed to a 10% wage and benefits cut for two years, and to implement a two-tiered pension plan. The Police Officers agreed to up their contributions to their pension plans. The city says that the deal with the firefighters surpassed what they were hoping for, and that they had not expected the deal to come before August, when the contract was due to expire. The new deal will extend the current contract, with the agreed-upon cuts, for two years. City residents are due to vote on a new measure that will raise utility costs to help pay for public-safety costs, a measure which both the police and firefighters support.
See "Santa Cruz firefighters agree to salary, pension cuts: Unions make key concessions before Measure H election", J.M. Brown, San Jose Mercury News, October 26, 2010