Letters to the Editor 8-8-13

No free lunch
Editor: The following letter was recently sent to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors:
Dear Chairman Rabbitt,
The Sonoma County Democratic Party was dismayed to learn that the Sonoma County Fair Board changed County Policy with respect to payment of overtime for approximately 600 temporary workers hired by the County to work during the Sonoma County Fair’s 16-day run. This is the first year that the County has refused to pay overtime to employees in this temporary employee category.
In her public statements, your Fair Manager (whose salary exceeds $100,000 per year) stated the fair should not pay overtime because a legal exemption exists that allows “saving” $20,000 in overtime pay.
We question the wisdom of reducing worker pay and protections simply because you can.
If the County Fair is in such a dire financial crisis, we certainly understand that the County may need to take extreme measures. However, we question the County’s priorities.
Throughout the run, the Fair Directors host a free catered luncheon at which alcoholic beverages are served. The celebratory luncheons are attended by some of the most influential people in Sonoma County at a cost that is more than twice the amount saved by denying overtime pay to temporary employees. If a fiscal crisis exists, perhaps providing lavish catered luncheons should be reconsidered.
There is no such thing as a “free lunch.” In this case, the lowest paid temporary workers are subsidizing a “free lunch” the county provides to some of the most affluent members of our community. Surely this is not the message about your personal priorities that you intend to deliver to the hard working people who elected you.
We respectfully ask that the Board of Supervisors direct the Fair Board to rescind this policy for this year and for future years. Further, we ask that you pay overtime to all 600 temporary workers this year, even if this requires retroactive payment for work already performed before the Board of Supervisors acts.
Stephen Gale
Chair, Sonoma County Democratic Party