A letter shared with this news outlet show county officials asked leaders of the Registered Nurses Professional Association, the union representing more than 4,500 county nurses, for a May 1 meeting to discuss a request for deferred raises \u2014 on the eve of National Nurses Week from May 6 through May 12.<\/p>\n
County officials said they\u2019ve made similar requests to every labor union.<\/p>\n
Nurse union leaders said they unanimously oppose the county\u2019s request, arguing the raises are contractually guaranteed and legally binding and the county cannot force a delay or withhold them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a massive, massive issue,\u201d union president Allan Kamara told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can overemphasize that. Our nurses are furious.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the May 1 letter, County Executive James Williams tied his request to the ongoing county budget deficit<\/a> that forced the county to make $200 million<\/a> in cuts to social safety net services in the middle of this fiscal year. That same budget crisis will require $260 million in more cuts in the next budget cycle to absorb the worst shortfall county leaders have faced since the passage of Proposition 13 more than 45 years ago. Fueling the crisis are unprecedented federal spending cuts under H.R. 1, President Donald Trump\u2019s spending bill that\u2019s anticipated to cost the county $1 billion every year.<\/p>\n Williams declined to comment and referred San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight to his letter.<\/p>\n \u201cEmployee salary and benefit costs represent one of the largest portions of the Adopted Budget,\u201d Williams wrote in his letter. \u201cThese are not easy conversations, and this is not a situation any of us want to be in, especially because we so deeply value the role of the county and the essential services our dedicated public servants deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, voters approved a county-sponsored five-eighths cent sales tax initiative, known as Measure A<\/a>, which is expected to cover $337 million of the structural deficit every year. All of the money is being allocated to the hospital system<\/a>. But county leaders have warned Measure A alone won\u2019t solve the health system\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n The issue captures the heart of an impossible labor situation facing public healthcare systems and local governments as a result of federal cuts nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cIf their hand is forced, the county might say, \u2018Okay \u2014 we\u2019ll agree to keep this increase that these employees rightfully deserve to navigate their lives, but we may have to do some layoffs, cut or reduce shifts or pull back on other services that impact patients,’\u201d Angela Reddock-Wright, an employment and labor mediator and attorney in Los Angeles, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cI\u2019m sure it does not feel good for the county to say this. There are no good choices here, and the county is trying to appeal to the union\u2019s sense of, \u2018We\u2019re all in this together. If we can all take the hit and make the sacrifice at this time, we might come out on a more positive end once the dust settles.’\u201d<\/p>\n Danielle Mahabir, a clinical nurse at O\u2019Connor Hospital in San Jose and an area representative chair for the Registered Nurses Professional Association, said nurses recognize federal cuts have been devastating.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the county is in dire straits, but nurses are the backbone of the entire healthcare system,\u201d Mahabir told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.\u00a0\u201cTo even ask us to delay or defer our raise that we fought so hard for \u2014 it\u2019s really insulting, especially in light of the fact multiple units have been running short staffed.\u201d<\/p>\n In his letter, Williams pointed to a recent agreement county leaders apparently made with SEIU Local 521 \u2014 which represents more than half of the county\u2019s total 24,000-person\u00a0workforce<\/a> \u2014 to extend their current labor agreement for a year with no wage increases, providing up to a $1,000 lump sum payment for eligible employees.\u00a0The letter also noted that in 2009, following the Great Recession, nearly every county labor union agreed to two-year contract extensions with no raises.<\/p>\n Reddock-Wright said it would be challenging for the county to compel the union without opening avenues for unfair labor or breach of contract charges. The cost of living adjustments were earned after thousands of nurses went on strike for better pay and working conditions in 2024. The strike ended after three days.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest challenge here is that it\u2019s already been bargained for,\u201d Reddock-Wright said.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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