Closed Session (2)
Public Comment
From:
Sent:Monday, June 7, 2021 10:47 AM
To:Public Comment
Subject:AFSCME MOU Management and Confidential Employees
Honorable Mayor and members of the City Council,
Please approve the MOU that will be presented to you on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. The managers of the City
have not had a raise since the previous recession in 2009, and the cost of living continues to rise at a much
greater rate than the 1% or 2% merit increases that some of us earn annually.
As I draw closer to retirement age, I am eager to enjoy some much deserved free time after almost forty years in
my career, fifteen of those here in the City of Anaheim, while I still am in good health. I can't save as much as
I'd like to for retirement because I still have teens to feed and house and two college tuitions to pay, which also
means I cannot yet move out of California to a state with a lower cost of living. I have had to live rather
frugally, foregoing any "extras" while the cost of gasoline, groceries, and other necessities have continued to
rise, especially during the pandemic.
As a library manager, I have been here, serving our community, since March 23, 2020. Staff continued to work,
and began offering curbside pickup of materials on March 23, reopening one of the branches I manager on
November 9, 2020. Unlike the majority of my colleagues, we were not able to choose to telework; we have
been here, dealing with customers not wanting to wear face coverings, although they want to use of facility and
library services. Staff continues to safely provide essential service to hundreds of customers daily, and while
my co-workers in AMEA receive annual cost of living increases, I have not.
I urge you, given the return of tourism to Anaheim and the economic recovery monies that will be received
from the federal government, to approve the MOU so that we managers finally get a long overdue raise. I
deserve to have a higher salary when I reach retirement age - it's the least you can do. We are doing more and
more with less and less staff, due to the retirements and inability to hire to fill vacant positions.
Thank you for your consideration,
Cynthia Hicks
East Region Supervising Librarian
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