Ventura County board adopts SEIU Local 721 agreement covering 2025–2029

The Ventura County Air Pollution Control Board adopted a successor memorandum of agreement with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721 on Dec. 16, approving a 3.5‑year contract that runs through June 18, 2029.

Tavine Coss of the County Executive Office’s Human Resources Division, who served as the board’s negotiator, told the board formal bargaining began in August 2025 and the parties reached a tentative agreement on Nov. 21; SEIU members ratified the deal Dec. 11. “The term of the agreement is 3.5 years going through 06/18/2029,” Coss said as she summarized the principal terms.

The agreement includes three general annual salary increases of 3.5% and targeted, market‑based adjustments for classifications represented by SEIU, with those adjustments described in the record as ranging up to 9% and paid over two years. The contract also revises the county’s flex credit allowance so employer contributions better reflect the cost of Ventura County’s health plan, and it adds county payment of dental and vision premiums for employees who enroll in the county‑sponsored plans. Coss said the MOA adds Cesar Chavez as a paid holiday.

Coss told the board the contract incorporates student workers and establishes Article 42 to provide limited benefits to extra‑help and temporary employees to comply with Assembly Bill 1484, enacted in 2024. She recommended the board adopt the agreement at the conclusion of the public hearing and thanked county negotiators and staff who assisted with the negotiations and payroll programming.

There were no public speakers registered for Item 5. A board member moved to adopt the MOA, the motion was seconded and the board approved the agreement by voice vote. The board recorded the motion as carried.

Next steps identified in the hearing record include programming changes to the county payroll system by the auditor‑controller’s office to implement the compensation and benefit changes in the agreement.