Santa Clara to Union: Pay Cuts or Layoffs

By a vote of six to one, the city council of Santa Clara, CA has voted to accept a plan that would mean layoffs for 80 city workers unless the city employees’ union votes to accept a 5 percent pay cut this year in lieu of a previously-negotiated 4.5 percent pay raise.

“It’s in the private sector, it’s in the public sector,” said councilman Will Kennedy. “Everybody is feeling the pain from the last few years of the economic difficulties.”

Santa Clara, near San Jose in California’s Silicon Valley, is facing a $5 million budget gap this fiscal year and projects a $13 million deficit for next year. The city’s total workforce numbers 910.