County employees tell supervisors bargaining has stalled; union leaders accuse county of using health care as leverage

Two public commenters at the Solano County Board of Supervisors' Feb. 10 meeting used the public comment period to criticize the county's approach to labor negotiations and to relay member frustration over compensation and health care provisions.

Linda Cheeseman, who identified herself as "an office supervisor here in the county," told the board, "This board has failed that test" of leadership on bargaining and said negotiators were being sent without decision-making authority. Cheeseman accused the board of "using health care as a weapon," arguing that health care is how employees "keep their children healthy, manage chronic illnesses, and survive emergencies." She warned that continued bargaining in the current manner risks lost workers and degraded services.

Jennifer LaRiviere, a member leader with SCAU, read comments from bargaining members, relaying that "we lose too many people to other counties" and quoting members who said "1% is insulting" and that some would leave county employment. She said members had urged the county to "apply the 3% COLA since October." LaRiviere urged supervisors to send decision-makers to the bargaining table and to change the county's approach so employees feel valued.

No response from board leadership to these specific public-comment accusations is recorded in the open-session transcript. The complaints center on bargaining conduct and tentative contract language; no motion or formal direction to staff about bargaining terms was recorded during open session.