Search: 12/2015

Local 1000 is spearheading a coalition of labor, faith and social justice groups to expand programs that address the growing retirement crisis facing millions of Californians.  

Last month, our union cohosted a coalition-building event that released research reviewing this growing crisis and what Californians will face at retirement age without new policies to change the future. 

To all those who make up the family of Bargaining Unit 3:

On behalf of the members of the Bargaining Unit Negotiation Committee (BUNC) and the members of the Statewide Bargaining Advisory Committee (SBAC), I extend to you all our best wishes for a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year. 

Many of our new teachers come from environments that have portrayed unions as a bad influence on the political and social landscape. They have not learned that the United States is a free society because of the existence of strong unions and an educated middle class.  Many don’t have the influence of friends or family, who have known someone injured in a factory or mill because of unsafe machinery.  Many don’t know about the work and time it took to influence changes in laws and to develop the structure of the modern day unions.

John Hendricks had over fifteen years of experience as a Sign Language Interpreter at the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) when he got a job at the Deuel Vocational Institution in Stockton. His experience and certifications should have put him at the top of the three available pay ranges but, due to outdated certification criteria, Hendricks was put in the lowest.

On November 20 and 24 teams representing the District Sales Representatives (DSR), Personnel Specialists, Tax Auditors, Workers Compensations Claims Adjusters (WCCA) and Financial Institution Examiners (FIE) series met with the California Human Resources Department (CalHR) under Article 5.17.1 to discuss recruitment and retention problems the series is encountering. Each of these teams were comprised of member leaders from the classification series and BUNC representatives.

Local 1000 has launched its 2016 contract campaign with these words from President Yvonne R. Walker: “Our contract will be about the strength and the power of our members to win something amazing.” 

Speaking to members statewide on a conference call for Local 1000 stewards and hundreds more who heard the call at listening parties, Walker looked forward to the upcoming negotiations feeling confident about the preparation that’s gone before.

Local 1000 leveraged our collective power to get relief for members at the State Special Schools who were struggling with delays in State Special Schools Benefit (SSSB) funds. SSSB funds are a type of unemployment benefit for employees of the State Special Schools run by the California Department of Education (CDE).

Local 1000 members and staff met several times over the past eight months with department representatives. The union forced management to identify what was causing delays and to find ways to minimize those delays.