Search: News & Events, 2020

The State Public Health Order requiring mandatory vaccinations for health care settings – issued on August 5 – recognizes that employees may seek an exemption based on their religious beliefs. This is part of the reasonable accommodation process offered in all state departments.

On Tuesday, August 11, 2020, SEIU Local 1000 met again with CalHR and CDPH regarding the contact tracing assignments. Since the first meeting in July, our contact tracing team continues to listen to the concerns and questions raised by our members and is working diligently to mitigate the impacts caused by contact tracing assignments.

On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, our Contact Tracing team met again with the State and received their counter proposal. Although we still have some outstanding items, our conversations have been productive, and we are progressing towards an agreement that we can be proud of – an agreement that not only demonstrates the critical need for contact tracing to our communities but also reflects the value our members bring in stepping up to meet that challenge.

On Wednesday, September 16, our Contact Tracing team met again with the State and passed our second proposal that highlights the team’s priorities in ensuring employees selected are treated fairly, compensated appropriately, and are given the tools and opportunity to succeed in their contact tracing assignments and careers with the State.

The second proposal includes reworked language around return rights and options for selected employees, as well as continuing to push for state equipment, ergonomic evaluations, and out-of-class compensation.

Our SEIU Local 1000 Board of Directors held its first virtual meeting—using videoconferencing technology—on Saturday, July 11, 2020. The switch to a virtual meeting ensured the safety of the participants while allowing the business of the union to continue.