FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
A showdown is brewing: Fresno County versus county workers.
KMPH News has learned that the SEIU - the union representing more than 4,000 county workers - is about to get ugly with the county over pay cuts.
County workers are demanding "don't dock our pay by 9%." But the board says everyone is taking a hit.
Union Director Tom Abshere says, "All we're asking is that our people be treated the same as the Board of Supervisors and the department heads."
Abshere says workers will accept a 2% pay cut, but Supervisor Henry Perea says the majority of supervisors will reject that.
County workers say a potential strike will look like Fresno's 1997 strike. Back then, demands for better benefits and wages shut down county departments - from mental health to social workers to juvenile correctional officers.
David Chavez picketed in 1997 and if the county cuts his pay, he plans to do it again.
"Without us doing what needs to be done, services in this county wouldn't exist," said Chavez. "The Board of Supervisors - they don't know what we do at the line level."
Workers haven't set a deadline for the strike, and supervisors haven't scheduled a meeting to negotiate.
For both sides, all options are on the table.
