Dallas Members Celebrate 2% Raise, No Layoffs of SEIU Members

Members advocating to protect their jobs and get a 2% base pay increase pays off for Dallas SEIU members.

In the worst economy since the Great Depression, and one of the City's worst budget years ever, the City of Dallas announced that there would be sweeping layoffs of over 800 civilian employees and no civilian pay increases, even for performance.  However, despite the economy, SEIU members advocated for eight months to raise the standards for four SEIU job classifications with a 2% base pay increase and to protect their jobs. 

The result: No layoffs of SEIU members!  And, employees within the following SEIU job classifications received a 2% base pay increase on October 1st: Crew Leaders, Equipment Operators, Laborers, and Truck Drivers!

These victories began in a meeting this March with City Manager Mary Suhm, during which she met with SEIU members and leaders to discuss possible ways to raise the compensation standards for the four job classifications mentioned above.  The SEIU Team continued to advocate for the raise and to protect their jobs for several months, ultimately making the case for both.

To date, SEIU members have been able to make positive improvements in two out of two budgets.  They’re now preparing for the new budget, for which they will begin advocating this coming January for compensating employees for their years of service. 

SEIU members in Dallas are organizing for positive change every day.  Now's the time for all Dallas city employees to join the winning team!  Click here to download the membership card to become a member of SEIU Texas today!  Once you have completed the form, call 214.823.1409 to have somebody pick up your completed membership card.

To learn more about this year's 2% pay increase, plans for next year, and more, come to our last general membership meeting of 2009.  It will be held on Wednesday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m.  The meeting will be located at our office: 4001 Ross Ave, Dallas, 75204.

 
(Left to right from back row: Jose Rios, Mack Middleton, Etric Betts, David Etheridge--Director of City of Dallas Human Resources Department, Elaee Thompson, Joe Jimenez, Rene Alcantar, (next row) Maria Arroyo, Mireya Cossio, Steve Jackson, Leon Hobbs)