By: Max Fraad-Wolff and Richard D. WolffA national campaign is now fully launched to make local, public-sector employees pick up a major share of the...

Despite tough times, folks at the Board of Equalization and CalPERS donated about 65 tons of food to the 2010 California State Employees Food Drive.

Our new contract--ratified by the membership last November--provides us with 12 leave days as part of the Personal Leave Program (PLP) and two additional Professional Development Days (PDD). Here's a guide that defines those two contract rights and how you can use them.

Governor Brown released his proposal to close the state's $26 billion budget deficit on Jan. 10. Today, an economist from the Local 1000 research...

It's a good bet that this year is going to be a tough one for public employee unions and their members, from tiny towns to the federal bureaucracy.

Many redevelopment agencies' recent reports to the state list few, if any, jobs created and little in the way of new construction or building rehabilitation, according to state data.

A majority of California voters agree with Gov. Jerry Brown's approach to closing the state's $25.4 billion budget deficit over the next year and a half, including his plan to hold a special election to extend temporary sales, vehicle and income taxes, according to a poll released Wednesday. Six in 10 likely voters told the Public Policy Institute of California they are willing to pay higher taxes to support schools, and a majority also would pay more for universities.

Local 1000 members are working inside the state capitol today as lawmakers continue their review of Governor Brown's proposal to close the state's budget...

Will baby boomers drain public pension funds?

Intense lobbying by Local 1000 members forced the state to extend its layoff date for employees working within the 11 building complexes considered for sale under a budget scheme by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

After reading an article in The Sacramento Bee about how the GOP is walking in "lock-step" against any revenue increased by taxes, I realize I don't know how the process works to allow voters to decide. How many votes are needed in the Legislature to do this? Can Republicans really block this from happening?

Twenty-four Unit 1 members participated in a "contract review marathon" on Jan. 7 and 8 in Sacramento. The goal of the review is to identify superfluous outsourcing contracts to defend against State Personnel Board (SBP) challenges, Joint Labor Management Committees (JLMCs), and provide information to legislative committees. Fifty-two contracts were analyzed and 87 were targeted for additional analysis.

Local 1000 will continue bargaining with the state to mitigate the effects of layoffs. However, the state hiring freeze makes it difficult for affected employees to transfer to vacant positions in other departments.

Contrary to popular belief, it's gone down, not upBy Walt SchaferThe author is a small farmer and professor emeritus of sociology at Chico State, where...

Local 1000 members are making the ultimate health and safety demand at state mental institutions.  We'll take you to a rally on Wednesday where members...

Legislative Analyst launches video primer on the state budget.

Hundreds of Napa State Hospital workers from SEIU Local 1000, AFSCME Local 2620, CAPT and UAPD rallied on Jan. 19 to demand proper health and safety conditions.

With calls for "Safety Now!," 350 Napa State Hospital employees staged a two-hour lunchtime rally Wednesday to demand better security measures.

With revenues plummeting during the economic crisis, states and cities across the country face real budget challenges. It is simply wrong, however, to suggest that modest retirement benefits paid to public service retirees are a cause, or even a part, of the budget problems facing governments.

Although closing the state's $26 billion budget gap will be difficult, Gov. Jerry Brown has sought the assistance of Local 1000 to help find long-term solutions to the ongoing deficit.

"This process will not be easy, but this governor has given us a seat at the table to help find solutions and to protect state services as much as possible," Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker said. "Our contract saved the state $400 million, and we will continue to propose ways to enhance revenue and increase efficiency."

State employees have numerous contract rights that may protect them from--or lessen--the impact of a layoff notice.

In his inauguration speech, Gov. Jerry Brown urged members of both parties to rise above ideology and partisan interest and help him fix the state's budget catastrophe.

Local 1000 joins 'tough' open budget processBuilding sale fight continues: Local 1000 works to save DGS jobsKnow Your Rights: Layoff protections111911_update.pdf...

Lawmakers are working through Governor Brown's budget proposal today, but few details exist on his plan to realign and reorganize certain state programs . ...

Local 1000 works to save jobs at DGS

Local 1000's legal team is joining the lawsuit seeking to halt the sale of state-owned buildings that would add $5.5 billion to the state's long-term debt. At the same time, preventing the sale will protect hundreds of members from layoff.

By Bob EgelkoAn appeals court has postponed a hearing on the proposed $2.4 billion sale and leaseback of the California Supreme Court headquarters and other...

Online RIGHT NOW...the Thursday edition of The Channel 1000 NewsDownload today's transcript of the Channel 1000 News [PDF]...

Walker on the budgetPresident appears on KQEDLocal 1000 President Yvonne Walker discussed Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal with Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Senate...

California's legislative analyst is giving Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to close the state's $25 billion deficit a qualified "thumbs-up." He says it's "straightforward" - and its fiscal assumptions are "realistic."

By Steven HarmonSACRAMENTO -- The state's legislative analyst credited Gov. Jerry Brown for taking aim at California's fiscal crisis with serious proposals to cut programs...

The State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) will hold its next Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 20-21.

These are tough times for state governments. Huge deficits loom almost everywhere, from California to New York, from New Jersey to Texas.

Online RIGHT NOW...the Monday edition of The Channel 1000 NewsDownload today's transcript of the Channel 1000 News [PDF]...

Winter Quarter begins January 9 and ends March 30...

The next Disability Determination Services Division (DDSD) task force is meeting is on Sat., Jan. 22. The task force will begin preparation for the upcoming JLMC and discuss workload, overtime, employee retention, training, career advancement, upward mobility and reduction in case backlogs.

Online RIGHT NOW...the Thursday edition of The Channel 1000 NewsDownload today's transcript of the Channel 1000 News [PDF]...

Dear Gov. Jerry Brown: As you've been so busy, you may have missed some data points of relevance as you put your budget together: U.S. Internet sales are growing by 10 percent annually. By the time you do, or do not run for re-election, in 2014, they will have grown to $250 billion, according to Forrester Research.

A gubernatorial appointment can be the political equivalent of a Rorschach test: Everyone sees it but assigns different meanings.

As states begin to face budget woes, elected officials are attempting to solve them in part by proposing legislation that would curb the rights of labor unions to bargain collectively. Much of this legislation is aimed at state employees. Though the salaries and pensions of state employees need to be addressed for states to remain solvent, stripping away from the right to collective bargaining is the wrong path.

In 1968, 1,300 sanitation workers in Memphis went on strike. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to support them. That was where he lost his life. Eventually Memphis heard the grievances of its sanitation workers. And in subsequent years millions of public employees across the nation have benefited from the job protections they've earned.

The national anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform will e-mail and fax letters tomorrow to California legislators who signed its no-tax pledge, warning them the group will consider any vote to put tax extension measures on the ballot a violation of that pledge, said the group's state affairs director Patrick Gleason.

While EDD modernization is long overdue, Local 1000 has concerns over implementation and potential long-term changes for the workplace. EDD says they don't anticipate layoffs. Local 1000 will continue to monitor this situation.

Several federally-funded EDD automation and new technology projects are being delayed or suspended due to lack of information technology (IT) employees to do the necessary front-end work.

Join Local 1000 representatives to discuss impacts of Employment Development Department (EDD) automation and new technology projects. EDD has a dozen projects in the works which will cost more than $445 million dollars. Implementation will be phased in over the next two years.

The Local 1000 election process provides democratically run elections for statewide officers, District Labor Council (DLC) officers and Unit 1 Classification Bargaining Unit Representatives (CBUR).

Jerry Brown's inaugural address...

On October 23, 2010 there was tragic news in the San Francisco bay area. A psychiatric technician, Donna Gross, was killed on the job at Napa State Hospital. A mentally ill patient at the facility allegedly strangled her. Napa is a state hospital for the mentally ill that has 2,400 employees for 1,160 patients, of which 995 are forensic patients referred by the courts. Her death was a sad reminder of the unspoken danger health care providers face.

Ever since Marie Corfield's confrontation with Gov. Chris Christie this fall over the state's education cuts became a YouTube classic, she has received a stream of vituperative e-mails and Facebook postings.

Faced with growing budget deficits and restive taxpayers, elected officials from Maine to Alabama, Ohio to Arizona, are pushing new legislation to limit the power of labor unions, particularly those representing government workers, in collective bargaining and politics.

Local 1000 member negotiators have reached an agreement with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) which will allow employees in the San Diego and Santa Ana offices that are closing to make a voluntary transfer to the Los Angeles Regional office with identical classification and pay.

Online RIGHT NOW...the Monday edition of The Channel 1000 NewsDownload today's transcript of the Channel 1000 News [PDF]...

Dear fellow Unit 1 steward:Thank you for your interest in obtaining additional information about becoming a Classification Bargaining Unit Representative (CBUR) in Unit 1. CBUR...

By Gary BurnsPay freezes for government workers are sure to be all the rage this year. President Obama led the charge by ordering a two-year...