Imperial County labor talks stall as employees and union reject county's last offer

Imperial County Board of Supervisors members heard a series of public comments July 8 from county employees and union representatives criticizing the county's recent contract proposal for Teamsters Local 542 and warning of a possible strike.

The issue erupted into public view during the board's public-comment period, where several county employees described morale problems and what they called unfair top-level pay decisions. Charlene Bayat, who said she has worked for the county 14 years, told supervisors: "We are the backbone of this county." She said rank-and-file members rejected the county's most recent offer by a 92% vote in June 2025.

The county's public-information officer, Eddie Lopez, read an official county statement later in the meeting saying the county issued a "last, best and final counter proposal" that included a 6% general wage increase distributed as 3% in 2025 and 3% in 2026, along with benefit and allowance changes. Lopez said the proposal followed the prior three-year agreement that included a 9% salary increase and $6,000 in bonuses.

Lopez also said the county has historically absorbed health insurance cost increases and that county contributions keep premiums comparatively low; he told the board the county expects an additional $2,002,000 in health care premium costs for 2026. He said Teamsters notified the county on June 30 that its members had rejected the county's offer and submitted a counterproposal; the county informed the union it was unable to accept that counterproposal.

Multiple speakers tied the dispute to broader employee concerns. Patricia Carrillo, a retired county worker, said the public is upset that top-level officials appeared not to follow the same standards the county expects of rank-and-file staff. Eric Opar, speaking with Teamsters, described the county's 3% proposal (referenced in multiple public comments) as inadequate given local living costs and said members were prepared to strike.

Board members did not vote on a new offer at the public meeting. During department announcements earlier, staff said five formal proposals had been exchanged during the negotiations. The county described its most recent comprehensive proposal as aiming to "value employees while preserving long-term fiscal responsibility."

The county also reported it had been covering 100% of health insurance cost increases since 2017 and that current county contributions for full-family coverage total $22,262 per year per employee; the employee share was described in the county statement as approximately $1,148.16 per year for that coverage.

The labor negotiations and public criticism prompted repeated calls from speakers for the board to prioritize rank-and-file pay. No new formal action was taken in open session on July 8; the board later listed a closed-session labor negotiators item on its agenda and reported direction was given in closed session.