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Speaker urges ongoing COLAs for SEIU 521 county employees, cites recruitment and inflation concerns
Summary
During public comment at the Sept. 9 Kern County supervisors meeting, Karen Bissard urged the board to provide ongoing cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for SEIU 521-represented workers, citing slow historical wage growth for some classifications and a grand-jury finding that social-worker pay remains low.
Karen Bissard addressed the Kern County Board of Supervisors during the public-comment portion of the Sept. 9 meeting and asked the board to provide ongoing cost-of-living adjustments for employees represented by SEIU Local 521. Bissard said continued COLAs would help with recruitment and retention problems and reduce future disparities that previously required large one-time adjustments for certain classifications.
Bissard outlined figures she said reflect salary trends for represented employees: she said that since Feb. 2008 she has received a cumulative 19% salary increase, which averages to about 1.12% per year over 17 years. She said social workers received a roughly 20% increase in 2021–22, while some entry-level positions saw a roughly 33.5% increase during a more recent period tied to minimum-wage changes. Bissard said the California Consumer Price Index rose between about 7.4% and 11.2% from 2021 to 2025 and repeated a grand-jury finding that social-worker pay remains low and is difficult to recruit for.
Bissard asked the board to “offer ongoing COLAs to SEIU 521 representative employees just to help keep up with inflation and impacts based on COLAs so the above does not happen again.” Her remarks were part of the public-comment record; the board made no immediate action or vote on wages at the Sept. 9 meeting.
No county action was taken during the meeting in response to Bissard’s request; board members and staff acknowledged the comment as part of public presentations. The matter would require inclusion on a future agenda for formal consideration.
