New Battle at High Desert State Prison Emerges over Yard B Closure

When the warden of High Desert State Prison (HDSP) announced the immediate closure of several buildings in Yard B, without warning or informing your Union, SEIU Local 1000 fought back immediately by sending a Cease and Desist letter and filing a charge with the Public Employee Relations Board. The warden’s unnecessary closure could result in the loss of dozens of jobs.  Adding insult to injury, the warden announced the closure right after the post and bid process, throwing workers lives into disarray, as the resulting bumping and reassignments would be unpredictable and damaging to affected workers. Without any proper notice, HDSP announced that it would begin transferring inmate-patients housed on B-Facility out in November with the goal of having B-Facility completely empty by December 31, 2021. 

To counteract this grievous action, the Union denounced this action in a letter to the warden and CDCR.  To back our condemnation with legal action, we also filed an Unfair Practice Charge with the Public Employee Relations Board.  SEIU Local 1000 demands that CDCR sit down with us to negotiate over these changes as they are required by law.

To read the Cease and Desist letter, click here.

To read the PERB (Public Employment Relations Board) Unfair Practice Charge, click here.