2,000 workers take it to the streets

Contract rally outside DPA headquarters

Chanting “Value Us, Value Us,” more than 1,000 state employees demonstrated outside the office of the state’s chief negotiator demanding a new contract that respects our central role in proving services for California residents.

The Monday rally was in support of a petition with several thousand signatures asking Department of Personnel Administration Director David Gilb for a contract that delivers a wage increase, equity adjustments and professional development programs.

“We’re here today because the state isn’t listening to its employees,” said Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker. “We need to be valued for the important services that we perform.  We’re the state’s backbone …we’re the human infrastructure that holds California together.”

Several speakers at the rally also took aim at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature for not finding a solution the budget mess that is now an estimated $15 billion deficit for fiscal 2008-09.

Speaker Claudia Gambaro asked the governor to fix the problem in his native German, as well as Spanish, Farsi, Hebrew, Swedish and a Hmong dialect.

“What language must we speak so that you can understand that we state workers are under paid and over worked?” asked Gambaro.