Local 1000 met with PERS management regarding revisions to the current gift policy. The new policy would prohibit gifts of any value to PERS staff that are in "designated positions" under the Political Reform Act.

An Alameda County judge ordered back pay and an immediate end to furloughs for about 53,000 Local 1000-represented workers whose salaries are drawn from sources outside the state's General Fund.

The following is a list of the 68 non-General Fund departments and agencies included in the Judge Frank Roesch's final judgment overturning furloughs and awarding back pay.

Participation in the 2010 Census is in everyone's best interest. Decision makers determine which communities, schools, hospitals and roads are in need of federal funding by using information collected by the Census. Filling out your census form is the best way to make sure your community gets the representation it deserves.

Your union contract contains hundreds of provisions designed to protect your rights. Article 14.8 - Contracting Out, protects our jobs from being outsourced. This Article entitles Local 1000 to meet and confer with departments who contract out, to mitigate or avoid the need for that contracting.

Members keep up outsourcing fightPrivate prisons hurt public safetyBill to exempt employees of non-General Fund agenciesApply for SEIU scholarshipsKnow Your Rights: Contracting outupdate_02_24_10.pdf...

A much anticipated conference call between SEIU Local 1000 and the Social Security Administration (SSA) occurred last Thursday, with both sides agreeing to work more closely together in the future. Commissioner Astrue was flanked by eight other SSA heads, most of them deputy directors, as well as two SSA attorneys. The Local 1000 chief counsel, legislative director and several analysts and program technician from various DDSD branches were included in the call.

Gov. Schwarzenegger is floating some bizarre and possibly illegal proposals to save money by turning large parts of the prison system over to private companies, including outsourcing thousands of inmates to Mexico. Local 1000 has joined a growing coalition of law enforcement, civil rights and crime-victim groups in opposing the experiment.

Local 1000 members are continuing their three-year campaign to expose waste through overpriced private vendor contracts on several fronts.

About 2% of Unit 1's 45,000 members have pending grievances. The four departments with the largest number of grievances are: Employment Development Department (EDD) -- 327 cases; California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) -- 95 cases; Caltrans -- 93 cases; and State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) -- 66 cases.

A Local 1000-supported bill to provide furlough exemptions to all state workers whose salaries are not drawn from the General Fund passed the state Senate by a 30-6 vote. It is part of a multi-pronged strategy to stop the governor's illegal furloughs.

Even after winning a big court victory that may end furloughs for more than 50,000 members, Local 1000 continues to fight Gov. Schwarzenegger's illegal furloughs in both the Legislature and the courts.

Bill to stop furloughs: Legislation helps Special Fund workersSupport new bill to keep paying state workersYour Questions AnsweredKnow Your Rights: Personnel & Evaluation Materialsupdate_02_17_10.pdf...

Your union contract contains hundreds of provisions designed to protect your rights. Article 13.1 - Personnel and Evaluation Materials, defines the procedures for proper access to, and maintenance of, your official personnel file.

Governor Schwarzenegger recently signed into law changes that could result in the early release of about 6,500 low-risk felons over the next year. Prior to release, correctional case records analysts working in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) must review the records of more than 20,000 inmates to determine if they meet the new early release eligibility criteria to recalculate release dates.

The following is a list of this week's top issues members are asking the Local 1000 Resource Center.

The Bee's editorial "Dems must bend on state payroll" (Feb. 2) is promoting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's misguided plan to slash state employee compensation by 15 percent - which would harm thousands of local families and eliminate $683 million in economic activity in the Sacramento region. This is an attack against state employees using a misleading mix of myths, misconceptions and mathematical errors to justify its position.

The Bee's editorial "Dems must bend on state payroll" (Feb. 2) is promoting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's misguided plan to slash state employee compensation by 15 percent - which would harm thousands of local families and eliminate $683 million in economic activity in the Sacramento region. This is an attack against state employees using a misleading mix of myths, misconceptions and mathematical errors to justify its position.

Join Unit 1 members and members from other Local 1000 bargaining units on Friday, February 19 as we review outsourcing contracts from a variety of departments. This is an opportunity to uncover costly outsourcing and waste of public funds.

On April 16 and 17, Local 1000 will hold our first Information Technology (IT) professionals' conference in Sacramento. Titled "Debug the Future," it will provide participants with networking opportunities, professional development and panel discussions on current IT related topics.

Get the facts: California has fewer civil service workers per capita than other states.

Position yourself for the next economic upturn. Learn where the Unit 1 jobs will be in the future; how to transfer within state service; financial aid; professional development programs; and, resume and interviewing tips. More presentations are in the process of being scheduled.

Local 1000 puts departments on notice: No discipline for observing holidaysBig victory on access: Veterans hospital tried to restrict union rep meetingsApply for SEIU scholarshipsKnow...

Although we're facing furloughs, layoffs and hiring freezes right now, career opportunities are around the corner, as the "baby boomer" generation continues to retire. Thirty-five percent of state rank-and-file employees are eligible to retire within the next five years; this will open up close to 16,000 positions in Unit 1 alone.

Veterans hospital tried to restrict union rep meetings >> Local 1000 has won a key arbitration decision guaranteeing union representatives access to our workplaces and ensuring that members have representation while at work.

The governor has once again released a state budget that will prove difficult for state workers. Budget negotiations between the Legislature and the governor will be another long and arduous process. If there is no state budget in place by the June 30, 2010 constitutional deadline, the governor may try to pay most state workers federal minimum wage -- $7.25 an hour.

Your existing union contract - still in force as our tentative agreement remains stalled in the Legislature - contains hundreds of provisions designed to protect your rights. Article 7 - Holidays, defines observed holidays and your compensation for working on a holiday.

Lawmakers are fed up with the state Employment Development Department, saying its technology staff is set to rack up $53 million in cost overruns on projects funded with federal stimulus money and is behind on assisting the unemployed.

Lawmakers are fed up with the state Employment Development Department, saying its technology staff is set to rack up $53 million in cost overruns on projects funded with federal stimulus money and is behind on assisting the unemployed.

The California state Labor Federation sent a letter to the Legislature in support of our contract and asking them to protect collective bargaining.

This letter, sent to the governor and all state department heads, puts the state on notice that no employee should be disciplined for taking off Columbus Day (Oct. 12, 2009), a paid state holiday under our contract. In addition, the letter notes that all contract rights apply equally to the Lincoln's Birthday holiday, which is Fri., Feb. 12.

The court ruling issued on Wednesday regarding the Columbus and Lincoln Holiday applies only to employees represented by CASE.

Dear Nancy: What do you know about AB 1699? Has Local 1000 taken a position on it yet? - Ray, Sacramento, CA

Gov's pay cut plan 'illegal'Layoffs delayed after alleged fraud exposed1,200 watch town hallSPB victory for educatorsKnow Your Rights: Layoff protectionsupdate_02_03_10.pdf...

Bargaining Unit 21 scored a major victory in their year-long fight to stop the California Department of Education (CDE) from outsourcing jobs to so-called visiting educators.

The governor's plan to unilaterally reduce state employee wages is illegal, counterproductive and bad public policy, SEIU Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker told a Senate committee.

The Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee met to discuss Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed "5/5/5" cuts to the state workforce. Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker, along with Oakland Branch DEA III Linda Martinez and several other state workers, provided testimony during the hearing to compel the committee to consider what additional takeaways would mean for the state's employees and the public they serve.