Our Unit 3 bargaining team has experienced six frustrating weeks where its intention to work collaboratively to advance the interests of our represented employees has been frustrating. We’ve made a number of proposals and had numerous discussions with little progress and very few answers.

Today, the logjam broke wide open, and our Unit 3 team is still frustrated.

“The State dumped more than 20 responses on us today, including some rejections, some counterproposals, and some proposed agreements, “said Bob Holtz, Unit 3 bargaining chair. “It’s a lot to process and deliberate about, and we’re unclear as to why the State’s doing this.”

“Typically, bargaining is a back-and-forth process every week. We need time to be thoughtful and to protect the rights of our members,” added Holtz.

A number of Unit 3’s economic proposals have been moved to the master table for negotiations. In the coming week, our team will parse out the State’s responses, and we’ll report our progress in upcoming summaries.

Unit 3’s next meeting with the state is Tuesday, June 20. To read about what happened in our other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at www.seiu1000.org

There’s real truth to the Local 1000 slogan, Stronger Together. We only win a great contract with a strong Local 1000 membership. So, if you’re not already a member, we encourage you to join us today.

And be sure to save your spot for the upcoming June 22 Rally at the Governor’s Office in Los Angeles here