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The Zone 7 Water Agency Board of Directors recently approved tentative agreements between the agency and four different employee bargaining units, raising the salaries for those represented employees and offering them additional benefits.
The June 18 unanimous approvals of these agreements, which took place at the beginning of the meeting following discussions during closed session, also included a resolution between the water agency and unrepresented employees to increase their salaries. All five agreements will be effective from June 22, 2025 to June 17, 2028.
“The board is committed to helping our staff be able to attract and retain excellent employees to reliably deliver water that meets or exceeds all standards to our customers as well as to manage flood control,” Zone 7 Board of Directors President Kathy Narum told the Weekly.
“These increases are provided for in the budget so we don’t expect any negative impacts,” Zone 7 General Manager Valerie Pryor told the Weekly.
According to the June 18 board meeting minutes, the first agreement the board approved was a memorandum of understanding between Zone 7 and the Alameda County Management Employees’ Association.
The agreement grants salary increases for ACMEA-represented employees over the next three years. Those employees will see a 6% increase this year, followed by a 5% increase in 2026 and a 4% increase effective June 20, 2027.
The next agreement the board approved was between the water agency and the Building Trades Council of Alameda County, which represents construction unions in the county. According to the union’s LinkedIn, the council’s affiliated unions represent over 35,000 workers in the county including over 600 craft workers in public sector agencies such as Zone 7.
The agreement between the water agency and the council also includes a 6% salary increase this year as well as a 5% and 4% increase over the next two years, respectively.
The board then approved another similar tentative agreement between the water agency and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21 — a union that also represents public sector workers across the Bay Area. The agreement mirrors the previous two with a 6% increase this year as well as a 5% increase the next year and a 4% increase effective June 20, 2027.
The last union that also received similar raises for its represented employees was the Northern California Public Sector Region, Local 1021 of the Service Employees International Union. The memorandum of understanding includes the exact same salary increases over the next few years as the previous agreements.
Finally, the board approved salary adjustments for unrepresented employees through a resolution that will also be effective from June 22, 2025 to June 17, 2028 — similar to the agreements between the four unions and the water agency. Thanks to the additional resolution, unrepresented employees will see the exact same 6%, 5%, and 4% salary increases over the next two years starting with this year.
Additionally, every single agreement includes an added section regarding longevity pay.
“These increases are important for Zone 7 to attract and retain an excellent workforce — we couldn’t do what we do without our employees,” Pryor said. “Our board recognized this in our recent strategic planning process and made professional workforce its number one goal. We want to be an employer of choice and continue to provide excellent service to our customers.”
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