Protecting our hard-earned rights is a Local 1000 priority

Article published on february 17, 2023

Having a strong union means having the power to protect our rights and enforce our contract, and our online search tool allows our members easy-to-use access to the hundreds of contract articles that govern our wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Are you looking for information about vacation accrual? Rules regarding sick leave? How to take advantage of upward mobility programs in your department? The answers are just a click away at contract.seiu1000.org

This powerful tool offers users the opportunity to search by simple key words or to read through the contract article-by-article.

Here are some examples of recent enforcement wins:

Win: Correcting management’s unreasonable handling of bereavement leave

After one of our members—working at the Department of General Services—requested bereavement leave recently, the department’s response was … unsympathetic.

Our member was asked to provide a death certificate in advance of the leave being granted. Our contract allows management to request substantiation upon the employee’s return.

SEIU Local 1000 intervened on the member’s behalf by asserting that management was being unsympathetic and unreasonable in this request. We informed upper management of the requirement to provide proof of the death immediately. 

Upper management reversed the supervisors’ decision. Our member took the bereavement leave. The employer also gave two additional weeks to provide the necessary documentation.

Read more about Article 8.3, Bereavement Leave, by clicking here.

Win: Fighting for safe working conditions at DVA

In late January, kitchen staff at a Northern California DVA facility were instructed to use a broken hot-water hose without a spray attachment to clean floor mats and cards—against past practice for this kind of cleaning and potentially dangerous health and safety issue.

Job Steward Lisa Bocast spoke with our Union Resource Center and got advice on how our contract protected us and how to solve urgent issues through Health and Safety Grievance protocols.

Bocast then emailed management calling for an immediate meeting with the immediate supervisor of the kitchen staff, asking in addition that DVA cease and desist use of the hose without the sprayer.

Shortly after management received Lisa Bocast’s email calling for an immediate meeting and cease and desist, management fixed the problem and the staff were able to perform their work safely.

Read more about Article 10.3, Occupational Hazards, by clicking here.

If you feel your rights have been violated, contact your workplace job steward, or call the Member Resource Center (MRC) at 866.471.SEIU (7348).

Know Your Contract Rights! Use our mobile-friendly, fully-searchable online contract tool.