The Brown administration and the union representing state scientists have reached a tentative contract that includes a 15 percent salary increase over three years and a new requirement that scientists begin contributing toward their retiree health benefits.
The agreement, which must still be approved by the Legislature and ratified by members, raises their pay by 5 percent on July 1, 2016 and then twice more on the same date in 2017 and 2018.
The agreement between Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Association of Professional Scientists marks a distinct improvement over the union’s contracts for the past 15 years. Scientists’ wages during that time haven’t kept up with inflation and lag salaries earned for similar work by counterparts in the private sector and local government – and even some parts of state government – by 30 percent or more. State scientists’ pay averaged $63,373, according to state payroll records.
Some members became so infuriated by the disparities that they recently rallied in front of the state’s human resources headquarters. Others, fed up with the low wages, have left for better pay.
“This tentative agreement would be a start and would provide some monetary relief for state scientists,” said CAPS Vice President and Bargaining Chair Patty Velez in a statement issued late Friday. “But it still falls well short of closing the huge salary gap between scientists and their engineering counterparts at the state, as well as scientists at the local level and in the private sector.”
