The last two months have seen a real change in the dynamics of Fairfax County workers and those who represent them.
FWC has grown significantly, and we’re now in many more agencies than before. County workers are responding to the vision presented by our union, one of independent unionism controlled by County workers alone.
In the wake of the Board of Supervisors’ approval of the full MRA (scheduled to appear, along with merit raises, on July 28th paychecks), some are acting as if the most important thing is to take credit and increase their membership.
For us, the mission remains the same: fight for county workers, tell the truth, and change this culture.
The pay raise provides some relief to workers, and the hard work that went into securing it is worth celebrating. But we can’t rest on this accomplishment or frankly use it as the sole reason for supporting a union or not supporting one.
We need to change this pay system. We can’t keep doing this anxiety-laden drama year after year, and if we don’t change the system, a contract can be undermined any time the County says it doesn’t have enough money.
As we’ve said for three years now, a reserve compensation fund is needed to bolster and guarantee pay. This puts employee pay first instead of last. Fair compensation should not be an option if we’re going to keep quality people here and stay competitive.
We need to reform our pay scales. More than 20 years ago, the elimination of the old step system in favor of “pay for performance” began the long slide into the disparities we have now. When PFP failed, the combination of the new pay scales, MRAs, and recurrent pay freezes brought us to our current inequitable status.
It’s time for real pay equity, and that doesn’t just mean “compression” raises that help some people and not others, calculated by a formula no one understands. It means Pay Reform, so we don’t have live year to year awaiting the outcome of the Board’s torturous budget process.
Let us know what you think and what your ideas are.
Contact us at fairfaxworkerscoalition@outlook.com or call on 571-991-5386