A COMMON AIM lies behind the bargaining agreements reached between management and Council 2 unions this year: Saving jobs.

“We are doing all we can to prevent our members being put out on the street where there are few job openings,” says Council 2 Director of Research Bill Dennis, who has been involved in negotiating many of the agreements.

Most members have had to accept furlough days, or unpaid leave, for a number of days each year, reducing their pay checks. Others have forfeited cost-of-living adjustments. A number have contributed more to their health benefits.

“But the alternative would have been to go through the layoff process,” Dennis says. “A common goal is to try to keep our brothers and sisters employed during this difficult time.”

Workers at the Seattle Public Library, facing a severe budget crunch, settled on taking a full week off this year, during which time the library was closed. (See: Library closes for a week.) Others took certain days during the year, sometimes following a long weekend, during which the offices for which they worked closed down.

“With negotiating to save jobs as the bottom line, our staff is doing what they can do to save jobs with measures, such as furloughs, that have a short-term impact,” Dennis explains. “Wage reductions would have a long-term impact as they would tend to reduce wages into the future.

“Each method has its pros and cons. But we are savings jobs.”

See also:

• Surviving the squeeze: Summaries of agreements

• Seattle Public Library closes for a week.