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Highlights from Unit 11 Tentative Agreement

Early Saturday morning, the SEIU Local 1000 bargaining team reached an overall Tentative Agreement with the State. If ratified, the contract would significantly raise the wage floor for tens of thousands of state workers. It represents the largest three-year contract in Local 1000 history.

At the master table, we negotiated a retroactive pay raise for all employees, won retroactive special salary adjustments for more than 300 job classifications, maintained the health care stipend with no expiration date, reduced the pre-retirement (OPEB) funding, secured a health facility retention payment, and added, changed, or preserved a number of skill-based differentials, allowances, and other reimbursements that factor into our state income. Our general salary increase (GSI), our wage equity increase, and our unit-based Special Salary Adjustments are retroactive to July 1, 2023.

Here are the highlights from the Unit 11 (Engineering and Scientific Technicians) bargaining table:

25 different classifications in Unit 11 received pay increases of 5% (11.1.11 Special Salary Increases). Another 31 classifications received 4% (11.5 Wage Equity Adjustment). These increases are on top of the general salary increase, retroactive to July 1, 2023, and pensionable. You can read a complete list of classifications affected by these increases here.

Transportation Engineering Technicians (TETs):

• TETs will receive a 5% Special Salary Adjustment (SSA) in addition to the 3% GSI in the first year of the contract for a total of an 8% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2023.
   
• TETs will also receive an increase to the Transportation Engineering Technician (11.48.11) pay differential. We’ve won $50 increases to each of the four different differential pay opportunities, based on eligibility.
   
• We’ve also negotiated a substantial increase in Diving Pay (11.43.11) for incumbents currently eligible for this differential – raising the rate from $12/hour to $25/hour.

Laboratory Assistants:

• Lab Assistants will receive a 4% SSA in addition to the 3% GSI in the first year of the contract for a total of a 7% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2023.
   
• Five different Unit 11 classifications who are certified Phlebotomy Technician I or II will now receive a $200 differential, a $75 increase from the previous amount.
   
• Unit 11 won a new classification review of the Laboratory Assistant Series (14.X.11) that will examine five different laboratory assistant positions in an attempt to remedy historical classification issues and to align with current and projected workforce needs. 

Water Resources Technician: 

• WRTs will receive a 5% SSA in addition to the 3% GSI in the first year of the contract for a total of an 8% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2023.
   
• Additionally, WRTs will receive an increase to the Water Resources Technician II (11.48.11) pay differential. We’ve won $50 increases to each of the four different differential pay opportunities, based on eligibility.

This email summary shares highlights from the Unit 11 table; you may have already received the email recap from the master table. During the ratification process, you’ll be able to read and learn more detail about the Tentative Agreement. Besides email, we’ll be posting information about our Tentative Agreement on our Contract Action Center page.

What happens next?

To become a contract, our Tentative Agreement must go through a number of steps in order to become law and the document that governs our working relationship with the State. Those steps include approval by the Statewide Bargaining Advisory Committee, a ratification vote by Local 1000 membership, legislative approval, and the Governor’s signature. Click here to read more about what steps we’ll be taking.

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: Monday, July 3, 2023

Today, there was no meeting held between Unit 11 and the State. We still have a number of our proposals awaiting the State’s response, including key economic proposals.

Since June 23, Unit 11 and our 8 other bargaining units have been meeting on an “as-needed” basis. Since June 23, few of our bargaining teams have met on “normally scheduled” days as they have in previous weeks.

In any case, when Unit 11 meets with the State, we will continue to issue a bargaining recap, often on the same day. These recaps are emailed and posted to the Contract Action Central web page.

On Friday, Vice President for Bargaining Irene Green reported that we have not yet reached a Tentative Agreement with the State for a new contract. We’ve negotiated fairly and openly, and the State hasn’t given us a response that respects us. 

It’s important for you to know that our current contract remains in effect, with all your protections in place. We will continue to bargain with the State while exploring every option available to win a new contract. Take the time to watch this video update from Irene.

We’ll be escalating our actions to win a new contract in the coming days, and we hope you’ll join the fight.

You’ll find the latest information about upcoming actions at our Contract Action Center.

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: Monday, June 19, 2023

Unit 11’s bargaining team reports incremental progress with the State’s negotiation team on economic proposals, reached several agreements, and presented one new proposal to advance the interests of the Engineering and Scientific Technicians we represent across the state.

“We experienced a more cooperative attitude from the State today, an improvement from prior bargaining sessions,” said Brad Willis, Unit 11 bargaining chair. “We were pleased to get some more meaningful responses.” Three of our economic proposals were moved to the master table.

We presented a powerful new proposal to directly address the economic issues our members face. It’s a proactive effort that opens the door to making progress during the three-year duration of our contract.

“We’re hoping to continue to press the State to review Unit 11 classifications and to address vacancy issues that exceed 30% across the unit,” added Willis. “By reaching agreement on this proposal, we’ll work to find solutions to recruitment and retention issues that ensure good state service without crushing workloads.”

Today, we reached tentative agreement on three contract sections, each of which maintains our hard-earned rights that were negotiated in previous bargaining cycles:

• 5.15.11 – Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC)
• 11.42.11 – Water Treatment Plant Differential
• 11.47.11 – Climbing Pay

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 11 returns to the table next week, on Monday, June 26. However, with just ten days remaining until our contract expires, bargaining sessions could happen at any time. To keep updated, and to see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.​

If you are, help support bargaining teams by purpling up on Wednesday and attending our upcoming rally in Los Angeles on June 22.

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: Monday, June 12, 2023

With 18 days remaining until our current contract expires, our Unit 11 bargaining team is deeply frustrated by the State’s purposeful avoidance of the business of bargaining. Today’s session, one of the shortest on record since we began, was beset with more delays and unanswered questions.

“In more than a decade of negotiating contracts, I’ve never experienced this lack of engagement by the State,” said Brad Willis, Unit 11 Chair. “We present proposals, but the State isn’t asking questions or seeking additional information. There’s no back-and-forth.”

At a time when our bargaining teams should be wrapping things up, we’ve hardly started. Today, 14 proposals remain unanswered by the State. Those proposals reflect the top priorities identified by the Engineering and Scientific Technicians we represent who participated in town halls and completed bargaining surveys.

Still, our team continues to press the State. Today, we proposed to roll over two contract sections that preserve hard-won rights from previous contract campaigns:

• 11.23.11 Out-of-State Pay Differential
• 11.51.11 Special Duty Pay

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 11 is currently set to return to the table next week, on Monday, June 19. An additional “make-up” bargaining session has tentatively been scheduled for Tuesday, June 20—solely dependent upon whether the State has anything to present or respond to.

To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: Monday, June 5, 2023

Our Unit 11 Bargaining Team—representing our Scientific and Engineering Technicians—came to the table and continued their work to advance the wages and working conditions of our represented employees.

And still, the work is largely one-sided. Unit 11 presented six proposals that, as before, are received by State negotiators with little comment and no substantive response.

“We’ve presented a number of significant proposals and the State is stonewalling us,” said Unit 11 Chair Brad Willis. “We don’t feel this is a bilateral effort, that the State is just going through the motions.”

16 proposals—some stretching back six weeks—remain unanswered. And we’ve reminded the State on numerous occasions of our interest in reaching agreements.

“Today we told the State we’re ready and available to meet at any time, but we need the State to engage,” Willis added. “We need engagement; we need responses to our proposals.”

We’re keeping our part of the deal: Today, Unit 11 presented six proposals, several of which were economic. This includes contract section 11.44.11 significantly increases a “long-term differential” paid to Unit 11 to cover lodging and meal expenses incurred when working off-site for extended periods of time. It’s a differential that hasn’t been updated in 20+ years.

We’re presenting stronger language (impacting TETs and Water Resource Technician 2s) that increases differential pay and broadens the degree and certification qualifications that would allow our represented employees to earn these differentials. The current language has not been updated since 2002.

Unit 11 is in the back-and-forth process of three previous presentations. We’re working to refine the language and reach an agreement with the State on 5.15.11 (JLMC); 12.20.11 (pest control license differential); and 13.31.11 (20/20 program). Each is important to our represented employees, as identified through input gained from town halls and bargaining surveys, and the fight continues.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 11 will return to the table on Monday, June 12, and stands ready to meet with the State’s team at any time. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s Mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: Monday, May 22, 2023

Recognition of the working conditions and pay gaps facing the Scientific and Engineering Technicians continues to be a priority for our Unit 11 bargaining team, and today, we made a number of proposals that underscore our commitment to rewarding our represented employees in the face of a growing vacancy rate and the resultant workload pressures.

Today, we proposed Special Salary Adjustments (Article 11.1.11) for numerous classifications, notable among them: Transportation Engineering Technicians (TETs), Laboratory Assistants, the Water Resource Technician series, and Plant Quarantine Inspectors.

Fair treatment of our Unit 11 Water Resource Technician series and our TETs are two of our longest-standing battles, a priority in every contract campaign since 2002.

A cadre of Unit 11 members were on hand at today’s session to act as Subject Matter Experts in support of the significant pay raises we’re demanding: Greg Dixon, Arvin Lau, Mitch Miller, Albert Manfredini, Anne Hudson, Tammy Howze, and Aruna Abeygooneskera.

“The State is ignoring a growing problem in many key classifications,” said team member Albert Manfredini. “We’re losing employees who are changing jobs for better pay and more reasonable workloads.”

We proposed stronger language to increase the diving pay differential for TET workers who work underwater in often dangerous conditions.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Ten different Unit 11 proposals remain unanswered by the state. “CalHR isn’t doing their share to move our negotiation forward,” said Unit 11 Chair Brad Willis. “Worse still, they’re not forthcoming why the delays continue.”

No bargaining is scheduled for next Monday, May 29 (Memorial Day). Unit 11 will return to the table in two weeks, on Monday, June 5. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: Monday, May 15, 2023

The Engineering and Scientific Technicians across the state—Unit 11—are facing high vacancy rates, overbearing workloads, and a lack of professional recognition. These are the key priorities our bargaining team has heard at town halls and in thousands of bargaining surveys.

Recruitment and retention of our professional members is paramount, particularly given a vacancy rate across Unit 11 that approaches 30%, with some classifications even higher.

And we continue to press the State negotiators for advancements that respect us, protect us, and pay us as well. Towards that end, many of our proposals are focused on changes and improvements in contract language, including increased education and training opportunities, review of a number of classifications, and more focus on recruitment and retention.

Todays’ bargaining session saw three contract sections presented to the State that focused on protection and pay. All three were “rollovers”—preserved rights granted by previous contract wins. We reached tentative agreement on two of those three sections today (indicated in bold type, below)

• 10.31.11 – Health and Safety Inspections
• 10.34.11 – Health and Safety Incentive Award Program - DWR
• 11.42.11 – Water Treatment Plant Differential

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Ten different proposals are still outstanding, and we are pushing the State to respond more quickly.

During today’s session, the State shared a brief announcement regarding its current efforts to create a new pay schedule for 300,000 state employees. This was a “for your information” reference only, and the State shared this website for additional information: California State Payroll System (CSPS) Project

Unit 11 returns to the table next week, on Monday, May 22. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.​

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: Monday, May 8, 2023

Bargaining Unit 11—Engineering and Scientific Technicians—returned to the table today with the State to reinforce the high level of technical expertise and experience our job classifications demand.

Our focus was on differential pay that recognizes a wide range of required job expectations and unusual working conditions,” said Brad Willis, Unit 11 Chair. “These are just a few of the efforts we’re making in this contract cycle to recognize and reward our employees for their unique skills and certifications.

Unit 11 proposed revised language in Article 12.20.11 – Pest Control License -expanding it to include a $75 monthly differential for those whose job requirements demand a current license. This brings Unit 11 into parity with other bargaining units in the state whose represented employees already receive this differential.

In addition, we proposed to “rollover” three additional contract articles that provide differential pay. “Rollovers” are articles that remain unchanged from current language. These agreements keep in place hard-won rights from previous contract campaigns.

• Article 11.45.1 – DNA Pay Differential – Department of Justice
• Article 11.46.1 – Pile Load Testing Differential
• Article 11.47.1 – Climbing Pay

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Other proposals from previous sessions are still in play; we did have a productive table discussion about our proposal to strengthen language about the 20/20 program. The State is showing signs of interest in our hopes to provide a reliable opportunity for Unit 11 members to integrate education into their individual development program and to facilitate their upward mobility.

Unit 11 returns to the table next week, on Monday, May 15. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: Monday, May 1, 2023

Our Bargaining Unit 11’s efforts today included proposals that would strengthen language governing our labor management committee, upward mobility for Unit 11 members, and two additional proposals affecting the laboratory assistants we represent.

A new contract proposal presented today would solve some long-standing classification and job description issues for four different Laboratory Assistants, who do distinct types of work in prisons, at Fish and Wildlife, and for the public health system. They have different job duties, yet their job specs are 40+ years old and need updating.

“We’ve been talking about this much-needed boost for Lab Assistants since the 2016 contract cycle, and the State’s team responded, agreeing it was time to fix this,” said Brad Willis, Unit 11 Chair. “We want a joint effort between Local 1000 and the State to respect their work with proper classification and compensation.”

Today, we also proposed an increase in the differential for those laboratory assistants who perform phlebotomy as part of their job description. The $125 monthly amount hasn’t changed in 18 years, while wages have nearly doubled. Thus, we’re asking for an increase to $250, which represents approximately 5% of current wages.

Joint labor management committees are powerful tools we use to continue the effort to improve wages and working conditions between contract cycles; today we proposed language to strengthen article 5.15.11, which governs the JLMC for Unit 11.

“Our goal is to re-focus the JLMC to address some much needed and thorough review of classifications and compensation,” said Unit Chair Willis. “We can’t solve a rampant vacancy problem without the improvements in recruitment and retention that come from these reviews.”

We’re pressing for stronger language in Article 13.31.11, which governs the 20/20 program. Many of our Unit 11 members hope to advance their contributions to their job. We’re seeing too many requests for this program denied by the state; we hope a re-write will make this available to more Unit 11 employees.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 11 returns to the table next week, on Monday, May 8. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.​

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: Monday, April 24, 2023

Our Unit 11 bargaining team—representing Engineering and Scientific Technicians across the state—met with State negotiators for the second time, continuing to lay an important foundation that will result in better recognition for Unit 11’s represented employees.

“We’re driving home the demand for competitive wages and benefits for Unit 11,” said Brad Willis, Unit 11 Bargaining Chair. “We’re proud of the vital services we provide, but a high vacancy rate creates workloads that affect our ability to do our job.”

At today’s session, our team presented a proposal increasing the differential paid to the hundreds of Unit 11 members who hold a commercial driver’s license and use it as part of their job requirements. Article 11.41.11—the Commercial Driver’s License Differential—has not been changed since 1999. Currently, at $155, the new language calls for an increase to $300.

Five different “rollover” contract articles were also presented, representing language that remains unchanged from previous contracts. Our team and the State reached a tentative agreement on four of them:

• 11.40.11 – Operational Availability Incentive Program – DWR
• 13.13.11 – Professional Certification or Registration
• 13.14.11 – Special Certification Requirements – Caltrans
• 13.15.11 – Technician Rotation – Caltrans 

One additional article (13.10.11, Education and Training) was also submitted as a rollover, but no agreement was reached today because of the length of that article.

Unit 11 returns to the table next week, on Monday, May 1. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.​

Bargaining Unit 11 Recap: April 17, 2023

In the first day of bargaining unit-specific negotiations, the Unit 11 team—representing Engineering and Scientific Technicians— met with State representatives, propelled by a real focus on the demand for greater respect and increased pay that’s commensurate for the work they do.

Laying the groundwork for a successful contract for Unit 11 employees, Bargaining Unit 11 Chair Brad Willis described the unique work they perform for all Californians and the critical role they play. “We design, build and maintain the state’s major thoroughfares, we move the state’s water from north to south, provide medical testing support for public health, and much more.”

“Unit 11 is at a critical juncture,” added Willis. “Our job demands great technical expertise, but the State’s failure to recognize us with competitive wages and benefits finds us at extreme vacancy rates, causing unreasonable workloads.” With that as a prelude, the Unit 11 team will focus on the retention as well as recruitment of the skilled professionals necessary to provide these vital services. 

On April 17, our team reached a tentative agreement on three rollover articles: one that provides a substantial life insurance benefit for a range of Unit 11 employees (Article 9.18.11); one that provides ongoing Health and Safety education and training for Unit 11 (Article 10.5.11); and one that compels the State to report all cases to law enforcement involving assault and/or battery of Unit 11 prison employees or those performing inspections for the ARB or CDFA (Article 10.18.11).

“Rollovers” are articles that remain unchanged from the current language, and these agreements keep in place hard-won rights from previous contract campaigns.

Unit 11 returns to the table next week, on Monday, April 24. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Highlights from Unit 21 Tentative Agreement

Early Saturday morning, the SEIU Local 1000 bargaining team reached an overall Tentative Agreement with the State. If ratified, the contract would significantly raise the wage floor for tens of thousands of state workers. It represents the largest three-year contract in Local 1000 history.

At the master table, we negotiated a retroactive pay raise for all employees, won retroactive special salary adjustments for more than 300 job classifications, maintained the health care stipend with no expiration date, reduced the pre-retirement (OPEB) funding, secured a health facility retention payment, and added, changed, or preserved a number of skill-based differentials, allowances, and other reimbursements that factor into our state income. Our general salary increase, our wage equity increase, and our unit-based Special Salary Adjustments are retroactive to July 1, 2023.

Here are the highlights from the Unit 21 (Professional Educators and Librarians) bargaining table:

We instilled and reinforced respect for our Unit 21 professionals:

• Protected our professional status by preserving language in three contract sections:
  1. 19.19.21 – Work Week Group E – Policy (FLSA-Exempt);
  2. 19.19.21(a) – Guidelines for Applying Work Week Group E Policy; and
  3. 21.16.21 – Professional Responsibility

• Enhanced our professional autonomy by removing a reference to work schedules from the contract
• Retained our right to convene a Professional Assessment and Development Committee
• Received commitment to discuss the potential for educational leave transfers in the new State Payroll System Project

We strengthened protections for our Unit 21 professionals:

• Enhanced due process rights for arduous pay differential requests which include receiving written responses from departments
• Protected our right to training for hostile and threatening behavior
• Protected our right to training in infectious disease control
• Protected our right to the alternate pre-retirement death benefit

We increased compensation for our Unit 21 professionals:

• Won special salary adjustments (SSAs) of 5% for three (3) classifications, retroactive to July 1, 2023:
  1. Transportation Programs Consultant, Department of Education (2683)
  2. Nursing Education Consultant, Department of Consumer Affairs (8250)
  3. Private Postsecondary Education Senior Specialist (2743)

• Secured new reimbursements of up to $200 for job-related certifications
• Increased professional development reimbursements from $75 to $200
• Increased travel reimbursement rates to federal levels

This email summary shares highlights from the Unit 21 table; you may have already received the email recap from the master table. During the ratification process, you’ll be able read and learn more detail about the Tentative Agreement. Besides email, we’ll be posting information about our Tentative Agreement on our Contract Action Center page.

What happens next?

To become a contract, our Tentative Agreement must go through a number of steps in order to become law and the document that governs our working relationship with the State. Those steps include approval by the Statewide Bargaining Advisory Committee, a ratification vote by Local 1000 membership, legislative approval, and the Governor’s signature. Click here to read more about what steps we’ll be taking.

Unit 21 bargaining update for July 13, 2023

Your Unit 21 bargaining team is reaching out to give you an update on our negotiations on behalf of the Educational Consultants and Library workers we represent. Our last Unit 21 bargaining session with the State was on June 26. A couple of Unit 21 proposals are still outstanding, and another group of Unit 21-related proposals—largely economic—are being negotiated at the master table.

Want a more detailed Unit 21 bargaining update? Join us on a Zoom call on Tuesday, July 25. Use the link below to sign on. **Please note: no registration is necessary.

• Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 12 Noon to 1 PM:

 https://seiu1000-org.zoom.us/j/82053318155?pwd=bStnMXNDQ2YrRWdNWHNWMDBHRHVWQT09

Here are some things you need to know:

Where does bargaining go from here?
Watch this July 13 video message from Irene Green, Local 1000 Vice President for Bargaining.

Unit-specific bargaining, along with negotiations at the master table, are being scheduled on a day-to-day basis. When there’s activity at the table, we’ll email and post the results, often on the same day. Click here to read all the recaps of bargaining activity.

What is the status of our contract?
As you know, we have not yet reached an overall tentative agreement on a new contract with the State. Our rights are still protected under the terms of our previous contract, which expired on June 30. Please remember that the $260 health care stipend had a June 30 sunset clause and will not be included in your August paycheck. That issue is part of our current negotiations.

You can read about your current contract rights in this mobile-friendly, searchable database.

What actions can I take to win a good contract?
As the bargaining team works to achieve meaningful progress at the table, it’s important that we keep our focus on Union solidarity and strength building. It’s true, that in order for our demands to be heard, Local 1000-represented employees need to stand together. More than ever, taking action in the workplace is an important show of strength. More actions will follow, but stand up now for a contract that Respects Us! Protects Us! and Pays Us!

Stay informed with all the bargaining news at our Contract Action Central web page

Bargaining Unit 21 Recap: Monday, June 26, 2023

As we push towards completing our negotiations with the State, our Unit 21 team recorded another significant tentative agreement that protects a key priority of ours: maintaining our professional status as Educational Consultants and Librarians.

After the State tried to delete language that grants us discretion in executing our work, we were able to retain all our language in the contract section 21.16.21 – Professional Responsibility. We fought the State’s attempt to impose a takeaway, keeping the language that allows us to exercise our professional judgment in our work, including the location and scheduling of work hours to fulfill our professional responsibilities.

We also secured agreement on 11.65.21 – Arduous Pay Differential. We improved language in this section, which now guarantees proper notification from management when our members submit a request for arduous pay for extreme overtime work. Previously, no notice was required, and “answers” often never happened.

We also rolled over 12.8.21 – Overtime Meals and 8.28.11 – Educational Leave, preserving two past contract wins.

Finally, our efforts to, with a new proposal, enable Unit 21 members to transfer educational leave to those not normally eligible for this leave were rejected. Despite being positive about the idea, the State ultimately rejected our proposal, citing problems with implementing the idea due to a “Vietnam-era” payroll system.

Want a more detailed Unit 21 bargaining update? Join us on a Zoom call on Tuesday, June 27. Use the link below to sign on. **Please note: no registration is necessary.

• Tuesday, June 27, 2023, 12 Noon to 1:00 p.m.:
  https://seiu1000-org.zoom.us/j/82053318155?pwd=bStnMXNDQ2YrRWdNWHNWMDBHRHVWQT09

With just a few days remaining before our contract expires, Unit 21 is on standby to meet once again with the State to resolve outstanding issues. When we meet, you’ll read it here first!

To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org

Winning a good contract starts with you. Don’t just belong to the Union, participate.  Sign up for our Silent Protest March in Sacramento on June 29.

Bargaining Unit 21 Recap: Sunday, June 25, 2023

Your Unit 21 bargaining team worked through the weekend to bring home a strong contract for the Educational Consultants and Librarians we represent. We’re reporting some progress today, along with aggressive efforts to preserve our professional status.

We reached agreement with the State on contract section 8.15.21 Personal Leave – Voluntary as rollover language from previous contract campaigns which continues the solid protections we have to maintain a work/life balance.

We still have a number of outstanding proposals at the table. Among the most important are proposals that govern the very core of our work: the ability, as professionals, to control the “when,” the ”where,” and the “how” of what we do.

The State is trying to strip us of this fundamental right to control our schedules and that affects the quality of our work and the autonomy already granted in the contract. Section 19.19.21 defines our FSLA-exempt status, and 19.91.21(a) has guidelines for the implementation of 19.19.21. The State proposes to delete the guidelines and take away previously hard-earned rights. They have also proposed revising 21.16.21, stripping us of our use of our professional judgment in conducting our work.

“This cannot stand, and we need to keep up the fight to the very end,” said Bobby Roy, Unit 21 bargaining chair. “We need each of our represented employees to reach out to CalHR and make the demand for no takeaways.”

Right now, you can call, email, or Tweet CalHR and make that demand. Use this link to get the contact information, and Tell CalHR to Respect Us, Protect Us, and Pay Us

Then, stand up for state workers on Thursday, June 29 at 10:00 a.m. by joining a silent protest march at the Capitol. You can sign up here.

Want a more detailed Unit 21 bargaining update? Join us on a Zoom call Tuesday, June 27. Use the link below to sign on. **Please note: no registration is necessary.

• Tuesday, June 27, 2023, 12 Noon to 1:00 p.m.:
  https://seiu1000-org.zoom.us/j/82053318155 pwd=bStnMXNDQ2YrRWdNWHNWMDBHRHVWQT09

With just a few days remaining before our contract expires, Unit 21 is on standby to meet once again with the State to resolve outstanding issues. When we meet, you’ll read it here first!

To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org

Winning a good contract starts with you. Don’t just belong to the Union, participate.  Sign up for our Silent Protest March in Sacramento on June 29.

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 29 Silent Protest March at the Capitol in Sacramento here.

Bargaining Unit 21 Recap: Thursday, June 22, 2023

Respect for our professional status as educators in Unit 21 has been a constant theme over the nine weeks we’ve been bargaining a contract. Today, as we have in previous bargaining sessions, we’ve made advances in our demands for the Educational Consultants and Librarians we represent.

We reached tentative agreement (TA) with the State on four contract sections. While all four were rollovers of previous contract wins that preserve our hard-earned rights, one is of particular importance: the FLSA Exempt Policy that grants our represented employees the freedom to choose how, when, and where we do our work. Those four TAs are:

• 11.64.21 – Professional Development
• 19.19.21 – FLSA Exempt Policy
• 12.24.21 – Commercial Driver License Fee Reimbursement
• 13.18.21 – Professional Assessment and Development Committee

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

We listened carefully to the input you shared through town halls and the bargaining surveys, and today we continued to fight hard for some contract language that governs our ability to develop ourselves and our careers, our professional responsibilities, and the discretion to apply our professional judgment in our work. We’re seeing evidence that the State wants to actually take away some of our previously-won rights in this area, and we’re fighting vigorously against it.

This is how bargaining works: We propose, the State counters, and our team strategizes our response in an effort to achieve our members’ goals. In another example of our work, when we proposed to offer educational leave credits to eight additional Unit 21 classifications, the State rejected it. Our response: A new idea, the transfer of educational leave credits to other employees so that they can take advantage of opportunities they normally couldn’t.

Want a more detailed Unit 21 bargaining update? Join us on a Zoom call next Tuesday, June 27. Use the link below to sign on. **Please note: no registration is necessary.

• Tuesday, June 27, 2023, 12 Noon to 1 PM:

 https://seiu1000-org.zoom.us/j/82053318155?pwd=bStnMXNDQ2YrRWdNWHNWMDBHRHVWQT09

Unit 21’s next session with the State is Monday, June 26. However, with just eight days remaining until our contract expires, bargaining sessions could happen at any time. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, click here for our Contract Action Center page at 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.​

Bargaining Unit 21 Recap: Monday, June 12, 2023

Today’s Unit 21 bargaining session showed greater engagement by State negotiators, and we made some positive steps with six tentative agreements reached today.

There was troubling news: The State attacked us with counter proposals on three contract sections that define the very nature of the work of Education Consultants and Librarians.

 “This is disrespect, pure and simple. These three sections are foundational, at the heart of Unit 21,” said Bobby Roy, Unit 21 chair. “The State wants to weaken our professional status and to diminish our autonomy.”

“These are three sections that matter most to us,” added Bobby Roy. They are: 19.19.21 and 19.19.21 (a), which govern how our work is scheduled, and 21.16.21, which governs how we do our jobs. “This cannot stand, and we need to engage as a Unit and push back to protect our rights and our ability to provide quality services to California’s residents.”

Here’s where the fight begins: Unit 21-represented workers are encouraged to attend a bargaining update (Zoom call) where you’ll learn more about the State’s dangerous proposal and our plans to maintain our professional status as stipulated in the contract.

Here are the scheduled times you can join this important update:
**Please note the Thursday call requires pre-registration.

• Tuesday, June 13, 2023, 12 Noon to 1:00 p.m. :

 https://seiu1000-org.zoom.us/j/82053318155?pwd=bStnMXNDQ2YrRWdNWHNWMDBHRHVWQT09

• Thursday, June 15, 2023, 6:30 p.m. (Pre-registration Required): https://seiu1000-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VPU5MNAHTN-lR4GY9uc5PA

In other Unit 21 bargaining today:
We proposed to roll over and protect earlier contract wins on two sections:

• 9.18.21 – Alternative Pre-Retirement Death Benefit
• 13.12.21 – Employment Opportunities

We reached tentative agreement with the State on six contract sections, plus the two sections (above) that were proposed today:

• 8.21.21 – 10-12 Leave
• 8.31.21 – Personal Leave Program: 1992 and 2003
• 17.11.21 – Education Leave: Conversion at Retirement
• 17.12.21 – Retirement Systems: State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) and Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS)
• 9.18.21 – Alternative Pre-Retirement Death Benefit
• 13.12.21 – Employment Opportunities

Unit 21’s team also agreed to move these two economic proposals to the master table for further negotiations:

• 11.1.21 – Special Salary Adjustments
• 12.14.21 – Professional Development

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 21’s next session with the State has not yet been scheduled. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, click here for our Contract Action Center page at 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

Bargaining Unit 21 Recap: Monday, June 5, 2023

With less than a month before our contract expires, our bargaining team forges ahead while facing growing concerns about a backlog of unanswered proposals that address key priorities of the Unit 21 members we represent. And it’s frustrating our team.

“The State’s reluctance to move forward is not without a cost,” said bargaining team member Susie Watt. “It results in a low level of trust in the process, and we want to believe that the State cares and wants to collaborate with us on the well-being of state employees.”

“Right now, what does the State have to offer us except overwork and underpayment?” added Watt.

“We’re being stonewalled on the things that matter most to our employees,” said Unit 21 Chair Bobby Roy. “At the same time, we’re concerned about the $260 health care affordability payment and a bump in our CalPERS contribution that are scheduled to take place at the end of our current contract.”

Unit 21 continues to fight for contract language that recognizes our professionalism and protects our earlier contract wins.

Today, we proposed to roll over section 17.12.21 – it’s language that allows those in Unit 21 to carry over their retirement “relationship” earned at CalSTRS, bypassing any issues that would be affected by their state employment. It’s an important recruiting tool and a huge benefit to retain our retirement eligibility and status.

We reached tentative agreement with the State on one contract section: 10.13.21 – Access to Work Areas 24 Hours. It’s a win, as this language change further acknowledges that the work of Unit 21 doesn’t have a set schedule and guarantees maximum flexibility to do our work.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 21 will return to the table on Monday, June 12. In addition, we’ve made it clear to State negotiators we’re ready to meet at any time to foster progress. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s Mansion here

Bargaining Unit 21 Recap: Monday, May 22, 2023

We’ve listened carefully to the contract priorities of our Unit 21 members—gathered at town halls and through bargaining surveys—and we’re responding with proposals that reinforce our rights and underscore the State’s obligation as an employer.

While we’re pushing hard to advance those priorities, there’s been no real response from the State on proposals that have been on the table for weeks. “I haven’t been given the authority,” was the response from the State’s lead negotiator when pressed for an explanation.

Today, Unit 21 presented five contract sections as “rollover” language that our members identified as top priorities.

“These sections define the professional status of our members and ensure our ability to perform at our best,” said bargaining team member Susie Watt. “These protections are of vital importance to every Unit 21 employee.”

Those key “rollover” sections are:

• 19.19.21 Work Week Group E – Policy (FLSA-Exempt) (Unit 21) 
• 19.19.21(a) Guidelines for Applying Work Week Group E Policy (Unit 21)
• 21.16.21 Professional Responsibility (Unit 21) 

These three sections are made more important because Unit 21 employees are more likely to work well over 40 hours a week. A number of grievances have been filed over the violation of rights conferred in these three articles, yet the State isn’t seeing that simple respect for the contract by the State and its managers is a clear path to improving our work environment.

Unit 21 proposed stronger and more precise language in the following section:

• 10.13.21 Access to Work Areas 24 Hours (Unit 21)

Our goal is to strengthen language that governs our ability to align office access and our personal work schedules. “Few of our employees have a conventional schedule, and expanded access ensures the quality and timeliness of our work product,” said Unit 21 Chair Bobby Roy.

Today, we also proposed to roll over the following sections:

• 8.21.21 10-12 Leave (Unit 21) 
• 8.31.21 Personal Leave Program 1992 and 2003 (Unit 21) 

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

No bargaining is scheduled for next Monday (Memorial Day). Unit 21 returns to the negotiating table in two weeks, on Monday, June 5. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, click here for our Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org.

If you’re not already an SEIU Local 1000 member, join us today.

And be sure to save your spot for the upcoming June 8 March to the Governor’s mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 21 Recap: Monday, May 15, 2023

As the Unit 21 bargaining team presses the State for additional recognition of their professional skills, their commitment to serving the state, and the importance of their work, we’re utilizing members as Subject Matter Experts who provide real context to the jobs they do and the challenges they face.

Today, three of our Unit 21 archivists spoke in support of three contract sections we proposed that would strengthen existing language by aligning it more closely with today’s reality.

To wit: our Archivist series job classification hasn’t been updated since 1966—just one example of many where the state is falling farther and farther behind in recognizing and correcting this and many similar needs of Unit 21 members.

Stephanie Geller, Veronica Lara, and Melissa Tyler used real-life examples of those challenges; perhaps none more stunning than the evolution of the documents they handle from paper to digital.

“Old job specs don’t speak at all to the work we do. Digital information requires new skills to collect, preserve, and provide access to records, and we’re fighting to bridge the gap between new job demands and the formal education required to do our jobs,” said Archivist Veronica Lara. “Every day we’re not trained or earn additional certifications is another day the state loses records.”

Today, under the umbrella of “Respect Us!” and “Pay Us,” we proposed stronger, more relevant language on the following contract sections:

• 12.14.21 Professional Development (Unit 21) 
• 12.15.21 Reimbursement of Credential – License Fees (Unit 21)
• 11.64.21 Professional Development (Unit 21) 

A proposal for new contract language—XX.XX.21 Telecommute Telework Program (Unit 21)—was presented by Unit 21 bargaining team member Monica Grimes and the Unit 21 archivists, who described key issues affirming our professional status—that we are evaluated by our work product and are not hourly employees. This new contract section reinforces our demand for respect to do our work professionally and on time.

Finally, under the heading of “Respect Us,” we reached tentative agreement on two previously-presented proposals. They are 13.6.21 Performance Appraisal and 21.17.21 Recognition of Authorship.

“This is a bargaining unit comprised of life-long learners,” said Unit 21 chair Bobby Roy. “In all cases, we want to be fairly treated, to enhance our service to the state through career development and to grow in our jobs.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 21 returns to the table next week, on Monday, May 22. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, click here for our Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org.

If you’re not already an SEIU Local 1000 member, join us today.

Unit 21 Bargaining Summary: Monday, May 8, 2023

Our Unit 21 (Educational Consultants and Librarians) bargaining team continues to press state negotiators for recognition and reward for contributions they make to California, for the high level of expertise and experience their job classifications demand, and for the adverse working conditions they experience due to untenable workloads and a high vacancy rate.

“Respect us, protect us, and pay us isn’t a campaign slogan, it’s a demand,” said Bobby Roy, Unit 21 Bargaining Chair. “We are presenting contract proposals that will make all three of those demands real for Unit 21’s represented employees.”

Today, we called for respect and pay by proposing stronger language for 11.65.21 – Arduous Pay Differential. Our classifications don’t offer overtime or CTO for additional work, which is prevalent due to high vacancy rates. We’re calling for contract changes that will compel management to provide timely answers for requests for this differential, and for the ability to use a grievance/arbitration procedure when denials are unreasonable.

Several subject matter experts from Unit 21 were on hand to present our proposal and back it up with a compelling presentation. Click here to learn more about the issue.

We also are making a “pay us” demand with new language in 11.2.21 – Special Salary Adjustments in the following three classifications: Nursing Educational Consultant (58%); Transportation Program Consultants (14.28%); and Private Postsecondary Education Senior Specialists (5%).

Six of our Nursing Educational Consultants (NECs) joined the bargaining session to illustrate their need for respect and parity, and a 58% Special Salary Adjustment. “This is a classification that is facing a 41% vacancy rate, demands an experienced, licensed nurse with additional educational degrees, yet pays $11,000 a year less than registered nurses fresh out of school,” said Chair Bobby Roy.

Local 1000 is making a concerted effort to show that state workers aren’t anonymous lines on a spreadsheet—they are dedicated professionals. These SSAs would reward them for their commitment.

Grace Clerk is a NEC, working in Redlands for the Department of Consumer Affairs, where she “protects the state, protects the health care providers, and the patients,” but asks, “Who protects the Nursing Education Consultant?” She wants to be recognized as a nurse “who has dedicated my life to my passion. I am not a nameless person behind a computer.”

Towards that goal of recognition, and to stave off a growing vacancy rate, Unit 21 today proposed new language calling for a 5% Recruitment and Retention differential for NECs.

We continue to make progress on other fronts, reaching tentative agreement on seven “rollover” articles from previous contract wins, all focused on the concept of “protecting” Unit 21-represented employees. In addition, we presented two additional articles to the state, also existing articles, for “rollover” – 13.6.21 Performance Appraisal of Permanent Employees, and 21.17.21 Recognition of Authorship.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 21 returns to the table next week, on Monday, May 15. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, click here for our Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org.

If you’re not already an SEIU Local 1000 member, join us today.

Bargaining Unit 21 Recap: Monday, May 1, 2023

Persistent and widespread vacancies are one of the biggest challenges facing Unit 21 (Educational Consultants and Librarians) we represent. The adverse impacts on our workload and the quality of the service we provide to Californians are increasing.

In 2019, Unit 21 had a 14% vacancy rate; today, it’s grown 50% to a staggering 22%. With one in five positions unfilled. The Unit 21 team chose to have an open-ended discussion about the problem.

We asked the State about their awareness of the problem, and what their plans were to improve the working conditions by filling the positions. The responses were less than satisfying. In one example, the State claimed increased recruiting efforts at the college level, despite many Unit 21 job descriptions calling for a minimum of 3-5 years experience.

“The state’s solutions don’t match the problems we face,” said Susie Watt, a member of the Unit 21 Bargaining Unit Negotiating Committee (BUNC). “We’ll continue to keep pushing the issue as we work through these negotiations.”

Unit 21 reached a tentative agreement with the State to “rollover” the current contract language for article 12.25.1, preserving our rights to reimbursement for medical examinations related to commercial driver licensing.

Today, we proposed to “rollover” seven additional contract articles that are examples of our “protect us” demand during this contract campaign and every day at work. Of particular note in this group: articles that govern training in infectious disease control (like COVID) and training in dangerous situations. These are all hard-won rights from previous contract battles.

• 10.5.21 Health Promotion Activities (Unit 21) 
• 10.7.21 Protective Clothing (Unit 21) 
• 10.9.21 Safety Equipment (Unit 21) 
• 10.14.21 Personal Alarms (Unit 21)
• 10.20.21 Training for Hostile and Threatening Behavior (Unit 21)
• 10.25.21 Training in Infectious Disease Control (Unit 21)
• 13.10.21 Education and Training Required by Department (Unit 21)

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 21 returns to the table next week, on Monday, May 8. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, click here for our Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org.

If you’re not already an SEIU Local 1000 member, join us today.

Unit 21 Bargaining Summary: Monday, April 24, 2023

Bargaining Unit 21 went to the table with the State for their second bargaining session, negotiating for unit-specific contract advances for the Educational Consultants and Librarians we represent.

The April 24 session was hallmarked by the appearance of four subject matter experts who provided personal stories as a prelude to the proposal of a new contract article that would pay a $300 differential for our Transportation Program Consultants (TPC), who are required to hold and maintain a commercial driver license as part of their job requirements.

Andrew Peters, Ula Justus, and Kerri Gardner represented the TPCs and shared the story of their responsibility in “training the trainers” who, in turn, train and certify the 56,000 bus drivers who transport more than a million of California’s K-12 students each year, while driving more than a quarter-billion miles. 

“California’s school transportation system is the safest in the nation,” said Andrew Peters. “Our job requires significant driving experience, transportation management experience, and … a commercial license.” Our proposal aligns TPCs with other job classifications across the state who have similar licensing requirements and already receive a differential.

The team worked on two additional articles related to reimbursement related to maintaining those commercial licenses, and await the State’s response.

Hilary Thomson, Education Fiscal Services Assistant, was a fourth subject matter expert, and part of the one out of five Unit 21 employees that are not currently offered educational leave, despite the continuing education demands of their work. Our team presented a proposal to modify article 8.28.21, Educational Leave, to include the remaining eight (8) Unit 21 classifications not currently eligible for educational leave. At the same time, we proposed rollover language on a related article, 17.11.21, which converts unused educational leave into retirement service credits.

Following up on last week’s bargaining session, the Unit 21 team secured tentative agreement on eight different “rollover” proposals from last week, which maintain language from our current contract and preserve hard-won rights from past contract campaigns.

• 12.13.21 – Tools, Business Equipment, Materials and Supplies
• 14.4.21 – Duty Statements, Post Orders, and Work Instructions
• 15.4.21 – Employee Opportunity Transfer 
• 19.1.21 – Hours of Work
• 19.16.21 - Shift Change 
• 19.28.21 – Reduced Work Time
• 19.29.21 – Release Time for Commercial Driver’s License Examination 
• 21.24.21 – Job Related Conferences and Conventions

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 21 returns to the table next week, on Monday, May 1. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, click here for our Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org.

If you’re not already an SEIU Local 1000 member, join us today.

Unit 21 Bargaining Recap: April 17, 2023

The Educational Consultants and Librarians represented by Local 1000—Bargaining Unit 21—went to the table with the State on April 17 for the first day of negotiations on unit-specific issues.

Respect Us! was the focus of this inaugural session. “Unit 21 employees are professionals with a special kind of expertise and deserve a contract that’s respectful of their commitment and contribution to the education of California’s youth,” said Bargaining Unit 21 Chair Bobby Roy.

“We are essential because while students are a fraction of our population, they are 100 percent of our future,” he added.

Unit 21 presented six contract articles to the State for “rollover,” signaling our desire that the existing language remains unchanged, keeping in place the hard-won rights from previous contract campaigns.

These six “rollovers” all govern working conditions. BU 21 Chair Bobby Roy underscored two of these as exemplars of Respect Us! “15.4.21, Employee Transfer, is important to Bargaining Unit 21 because as professionals, we embrace new challenges. 19.1.21, Hours of Work, is a priority to those BU 21 members in Workweek Group Two because it protects the quality of work/life balance.”

• 12.13.21 – Tools, Business Equipment, Materials, and Supplies
• 14.4.21 – Duty Statements, Post Orders, and Work Instructions
• 15.4.21 – Employee Opportunity Transfer 
• 19.1.21 – Hours of Work
• 19.16.21 - Shift Change 
• 19.28.21 – Reduced Work Time
• 19.29.21 – Release Time for Commercial Driver’s License Examination 
• 21.24.21 – Job-Related Conferences and Conventions

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 21 returns to the table next week, on Monday, April 24. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Highlights from Unit 15 Tentative Agreement

Early Saturday morning, the SEIU Local 1000 bargaining team reached an overall Tentative Agreement with the State. If ratified, the contract would significantly raise the wage floor for tens of thousands of state workers. It represents the largest three-year contract in Local 1000 history.

At the master table, we negotiated a retroactive pay raise for all employees, won retroactive special salary adjustments for more than 300 job classifications, maintained the health care stipend with no expiration date, reduced the pre-retirement (OPEB) funding, secured a health facility retention payment, and added, changed, or preserved a number of skill-based differentials, allowances, and other reimbursements that factor into our state income. Our general salary increase, our wage equity increase, and our unit-based Special Salary Adjustments are retroactive to July 1, 2023.

Here are the highlights from the Unit 15 (Allied Service Workers) bargaining table:

5 different classifications in Unit 15 received pay increases ranging from 4% – 6.61% (11.1.15 Special Salary Increases). Another 21 classifications received 4% (11.5 Wage Equity Adjustment). These increases are on top of the general salary increase, retroactive to July 1, 2023, and pensionable. You can read a complete list of classifications affected by these increases here.

Nine different classifications will be eligible for a Staged Pay Differential. There are three levels: 2% after passing probation, 2% after 12 months in the classification, and another 1.5% after 24 months.

The State will establish an alternative range—Increasing the minimum and maximum of the salary ranges by 10%—for employees in the Custodian I and Custodian II classifications who are employed by CCHCS, CDCR, CalVet, CalPIA, DDS, DSH (11.XX.15)

Our uniform allowance has increased to $650. The safety footwear allowance for custodians has increased to $165 and is now assured to be included directly in the employee’s paycheck each year. (12.11.15)

New language creates an opportunity to negotiate a yearly vacation bidding process at each institution in CDCR and CCHCS. (8.X.15)

Three Joint Labor Management Committees (JLMC) (Custodians, Food Service Workers, Upward Mobility and Career Development) will all have additional departments participating, moving forward. In addition, we’ve split CDCR & CCHCS into its own JLMC, while maintaining the existing Food Service Workers JLMC. (5.16.15, 5.18.15, 13.11.15)

We’ve expanded the number of departments that will now offer training on how to properly handle infectious diseases and how to keep Unit 15 employees safe. (10.25.15)

12.9.15 Overtime Meal Allowance (Excluding CDCR and CCHCS) (Unit 15).  This language now excludes CDCR and CCHCS as these departments are now covered under 12.9 for overtime meal allowances.

We secured a voluntary overtime seniority process for all non-CDCR worksites and strengthened language to protect employees’ RDOs. (19.13.15). Similarly, we strengthened language to protect employee RDOs at CDCR, Adult Programs, and CCHCS (19.14.15)

In 21.26.15-Custodial Routes (Unit 15), we added language to modify work duties when short-staffed.

Protecting our existing hard-won rights from previous campaigns, we kept the same language and protections in more than two dozen Unit 15-specific contract sections.

This email summary shares highlights from the Unit 15 table; you may have already received the email recap from the master table. During the ratification process, you’ll be able to read and learn more detail about the Tentative Agreement. Besides email, we’ll be posting information about our Tentative Agreement on our Contract Action Center page.

What happens next?

To become a contract, our Tentative Agreement must go through a number of steps in order to become law and the document that governs our working relationship with the State. Those steps include approval by the Statewide Bargaining Advisory Committee, a ratification vote by Local 1000 membership, legislative approval, and the Governor’s signature. Click here to read more about what steps we’ll be taking.

Unit 15 bargaining update for July 13, 2023

Your Unit 15 bargaining team is reaching out to give you an update on our negotiations on behalf of the Allied Services Workers we represent. Our last Unit 15 bargaining session with the State was on June 25. A number of Unit 15 proposals are still outstanding, and another group of Unit 15-related proposals—largely economic—are being negotiated at the master table.

Want a more detailed Unit 15 bargaining update? Join us on one of two Zoom calls on Monday, July 24. Use the link below to sign on. **Please note: no registration is necessary.

• Monday, July 17, 2023, 9:00 a.m. OR Monday, July 17, 2023, 6:00 p.m.
  https://seiu1000-org.zoom.us/j/5349952562

Here are some things you need to know:

Where does bargaining go from here?
Watch this July 13 video message from Irene Green, Local 1000 Vice President for Bargaining.

Unit-specific bargaining, along with negotiations at the master table, are being scheduled on a day-to-day basis. When there’s activity at the table, we’ll email and post the results, often on the same day. Click here to read all the recaps of bargaining activity.

What is the status of our contract?
As you know, we have not yet reached an overall tentative agreement on a new contract with the State. Our rights are still protected under the terms of our previous contract, which expired on June 30. Please remember that the $260 health care stipend had a June 30 sunset clause, and will not be included in your August paycheck. That issue is part of our current negotiations.

You can read about your current contract rights in this mobile-friendly, searchable database.=

What actions can I take to win a good contract?
As the bargaining team works to achieve meaningful progress at the table, it’s important that we keep our focus on Union solidarity and strength building. It’s true, that in order for our demands to be heard, Local 1000-represented employees need to stand together. More than ever, taking action in the workplace is an important show of strength. More actions will follow, but stand up now for a contract that Respects Us! Protects Us! and Pays Us!

Stay informed with all the bargaining news at our Contract Action Central web page.

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Sunday, June 25, 2023

Weekends matter to all of us as we strive for work/life balance. But when our Unit 15 workers face mandated overtime on the last day of the workweek, it throws that balance out of whack. Today, after a long battle and many counterproposals, we recorded a big win that helps ensure a work/life balance.

We reached tentative agreement with the State on two big contract sections (19.13.15 and 19.14.15). Our new language governs the distribution and assignment of overtime shifts, making it fairer and more mindful of our “weekends.”

These wins about overtime scheduling include a clearer definition of what a “double” shift is and when they may or may not be assigned during the workweek. What’s more, the new language compels supervisors to make a more thorough effort in making overtime assignments, including the supervisor himself or herself covering an overtime shift.

Respect for the work/life balance is a key priority of our members, as we learned during the town halls and in the bargaining surveys. In alignment with that priority, we also reached agreement on another contract section.

Article 8.x.15 – Vacation Bid Scheduling, adds guidance to the vacation scheduling process, offering our members more flexibility and certainty in taking their hard-earned vacation

“As we reach the end of bargaining, these hard-fought wins are particularly sweet,” said Unit 15 Chair Eric Murray. “Our Allied Service workers often labor in difficult conditions, so to be able to grant them some much-needed clarification on these issues is important.”

With just a few days remaining before our contract expires, Unit 15 is on standby to meet once again with the State to resolve outstanding issues. When we meet, you’ll read it here first!

To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org

Winning a good contract starts with you. Don’t just belong to the Union, participate. Tell CalHR to Respect Us, Protect Us, and Pay Us. And sign up for our Silent Protest March in Sacramento on June 29.

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 29 Silent Protest March at the Capitol in Sacramento here.

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Monday, June 19, 2023

With a short ten days remaining until our current contract expires, our Unit 15 team reports some additional engagement by the State’s negotiating team—but not enough, and no real progress on the key economic issues identified by the Allied Service workers we represent.

Three of our money proposals have been moved to master table negotiations, covering SSAs and a boost in uniform allowance. We’re frustrated that the State hasn’t been forthcoming with explanations as we seek to understand the other side’s position after almost 9 weeks of bargaining. We received no other proposals from the State today.

In many cases, our working conditions are priorities for our Unit 15 members, and in Monday’s session, we focused our energy on reaching solutions on two issues: overtime distribution and re-directed assignments.

Too often, our represented employees don’t get offered an opportunity to work overtime shifts, and our bargaining team and Unit 15 leaders have long been fighting for contract language that supports equitable access to OT shifts.

“We’re demanding that the State apply simple fairness to a wholly unfair process,” said Brent Andrews of the Unit 15 bargaining team. “We’ve shared a number of compelling stories that illustrate the lost economic opportunity for our members.”

The fight for positive change in access to overtime assignments continues, and we’re not finished. At the same time, the State is resistant to our demand for stronger language to protect our members from being redirected to or “cross-covering” working assignments outside their normal duties. Here, too, the process continues, and our team is planning the next steps.

We reached agreement to update the language on one provision with the State, which will increase the number of departments committing to provide proper training on infectious diseases and blood-borne pathogens:10.25.15 – Infectious Disease Control

We reached agreement with the State on three additional  existing provisions that preserve the rights we won in previous contract campaigns:

• 10.33.15 – Laundry and Kitchen Temperature and Visibility
• 15.2.15 – Joint Labor Management Appeal of Voluntary Transfer
• 11.16.15 -Cook’s Classification

Unit 15 will return to the table on Monday, June 26. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.​

If you are, help support bargaining teams by purpling up on Wednesday and attending our upcoming rally in Los Angeles on June 22.

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Monday, June 12, 2023

There was some movement at the Unit 15 bargaining table today as the State negotiators broke their own logjam and provided some incremental responses to our proposals.

“We think the State heard our frustration, and while we didn’t reach any agreements today, we are encouraged by the State’s movement,” said Eric Murray, Unit 15 hair. “We can begin having some dialog about issues of importance to the Allied Service workers we represent.”

Today, the State returned counter proposals on five different contract sections. Our Unit 15 team is diligently reviewing the changes and evaluating the impacts any changes will have on our members.

“We’re working on contract sections that protect our working conditions, like overtime distribution and infectious disease control,” said Eric Murray. “These are key issues identified by Unit 15 at town halls and in bargaining surveys.”

Still, much work to achieve a good contract remains. Six proposals remain unanswered by the state.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 15 will return to the table on Monday, June 19. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Monday, June 5, 2023

Unit 15 continues to press the State to advance the economics and working conditions of our Allied Service workers. While we made some important progress today, there remain more than 10 proposals still awaiting any kind of response from the State.

“Incremental progress is cause for optimism, but we can’t move forward on key Unit 15 issues without some kind of answer,” said Unit 15 Chair Eric Murray. “Negotiations are a two-way street, and it’s incumbent on the State to do their share.”

We’re working to address the State’s lack of reasonable timing when scheduling required training. Some supervisors are ignoring current contract language governing required training, and so our proposal for section 13.22.15 strengthens language to allow our represented workers to not only do their jobs well, but to reasonably and reliably schedule their personal commitments without interruption.

A similar, new proposal – 8.X.15 Vacation Scheduling Bid (CDCR/CCHCS) – offers a new procedure that will also improve our work/life balance. We heard our members when they said that management often ignores reasonable and common practice when scheduling time off, explaining “we don’t have it in writing.” We aim to improve this.

Today: Unit 15 reached tentative agreement with the State on three contract sections:

• 13.19.15 – State Required Training
• 13.22.15 – CDCR (Adult Programs) Training
• 13.23.15 – CDCR Training (Juvenile Programs)

Of particular note: We pushed hard to win agreement on the training at DJJ.  Our members will be among the last workers as the state closes the juvenile facilities.  This ensures their training will be kept current for future work situations.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 15 will return to the table on Monday, June 12. In addition, we’ve made it clear to State negotiators we’re ready to meet at any time to foster progress. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s mansion here

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Monday, May 22, 2023

After consulting with their Master Table bargaining team colleagues last week, the Bargaining Unit 15 team met with the State for the fifth time to work on pass backs and hear counter offers on proposals the team has brought to the State in previous sessions.

The team presented one new proposal and three rollover proposals. The new proposal is:

• 13.11.15 Joint Labor Management Committee on Upward Mobility and Career Development (Unit 15)

This proposal retains all the old language for this committee while adding several departments to make it more inclusive, bring more people to the table, and increase worker access to upward mobility. To do so, we are adding the following departments: the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and the California Conservation Corps (CCC)

We also reached Tentative Agreement on three rollover proposals, including:

• 14.12.15 Custodian Equipment (Unit 15)
• 15.4.15 Employee Opportunity Transfer (Unit 15)
• 13.23.15 CDCR Training (Juvenile Programs) (Unit 15)

Local 1000 and the State have gone back and forth about proposing to eliminate the language in 13.23.15. The juvenile programs have as yet not been eliminated, and until those programs are officially removed, the Unit 15 Team is insistent that the language will remain.

“We need to have economic discussions at the unit table in order to know what to propose for Tentative Agreement at the master table,” said Eric Murray, Bargaining Unit 15 Chair. As Murray pointed out, bargaining ground rules allow the State to deliver counter proposals on economics at the unit tables. However, only tentative agreements on economics need to be elevated and reached at the Master table. So, while it is important for economic discussions to take place at the unit tables to narrow down the issues sent to the master table, rejections of economics may take place at the unit table.

If the State is claiming any economic proposal, even a rollover—the hard-earned rights we’ve won in previous campaigns—it is considered a “new cost.” When this occurs, the State needs to be costing the unit proposals and bringing Department of Finance to the unit table to discuss.

If the State is looking to make changes to any of our current differential language in relation to the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA), the State needs to provide this counter as well.

The State has had eighteen months from the date when we were notified to conduct the research that demonstrates there is a legal necessity to change the status of any specific differential. Unless the State can prove changes are legally necessary, Local 1000 and the Unit 15 team has no intention of changing this language. “We are willing to meet as long as it takes to make movement with the Unit 15 proposals,” reiterated Murray. “It’s on the State to make the counter for us to be able to respond.”  

“We need to get some of these financial proposals back from the State,” said Garth Underwood, BU 15 Vice Chair and a CDCR Correctional Supervising Cook at Ironwood State Prison. “We can’t move anything much further until we start to see their counter offers. Unit 15 workers are the lowest paid employees in Local 1000, so the most important thing for allied service workers like us is money. The members have spoken. We need to see a significant raise.”  

Unit 15’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for June 5 due to the Memorial Day holiday. On Tuesday, May 23, bargaining units 1, 3, 4, 14, and 17 will once again meet with the State. Master table negotiations resume on Wednesday, May 24.

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 8 March to the Governor’s mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Monday, May 15, 2023

Bargaining Unit 15, representing allied service workers from across the state, returned to the table today with the State to reiterate the importance of maintaining a high level of health and safety for our incarcerated population as well as the state employees serving them.  

The Unit 15 team reached a tentative agreement on rollover language for the section 13.31.15 20/20 programs (Unit 15), in turn leaving space for counter proposals from the State.

Redirects (BU 15)
The second proposal Unit 15 made to the State involves section XX.XX.XX – Redirects (Unit 15). The intent speaks to an issue that has arisen in Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC) meetings regarding what has become an expectation for cooks to oversee food preparation and cooking while simultaneously maintaining quality control standards in multiple kitchens. The issue has arisen primarily due to chronic staff shortages, with what staff we do have being asked to do double duty.

“It’s not only a health and safety issue,” said unit chair Eric Murray. “It’s a food integrity issue as well. Asking our cooks to cover two or more groups of inmates at the same time unnecessarily puts all inmates at risk of food illness or injury. It’s difficult to supervise a meal for 500-1000 inmates. It’s impossible to be redirected—and held accountable to state standards—for twice that number.”

The rationale is simple. Unit 15 employees that work in a CDCR or CCHCS institution that have successfully bid for a position shall not be redirected from that position. If it becomes necessary to redirect under extreme emergencies, management shall fill the position with a 1^st line supervisor first. However, if this is not possible, the post shall be filled by an employee who is working in a management-owned position. If it becomes necessary to redirect a BU 15 employee from their union post, management will follow the inverse seniority rotation.

Unit 15’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 22. On Tuesday, May 16, bargaining units 1, 3, 4, 14, and 17 will once again meet with the State. Master table negotiations resume on Wednesday, May 17.

To read about what happened in Monday’s Bargaining Unit 11, 20, and 21 sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Monday, May 8, 2023

The Bargaining Unit 15 Negotiating Committee returned to the bargaining table on Monday, May 8, 2023, to demand the State of California respect, protect, and pay our allied service workers.

The debate was lively—and productive—as the team proposed and reached Tentative Agreement (TA) on several items and presented several additional important proposals to the State. The TAs included:

• Article 10.9.15 – Safety Equipment and Safety Glasses/Goggles (Unit 15)
• Article 21.26.15 – Custodial Routes (Unit 15)

The Tentative Agreement on Article 10.9.15 in particular represents a huge win for our 4,500+ SEIU Local 1000 civil service custodians, laundry workers, supervising cooks, and food service workers in California prisons and other state institutions.

The team was able to “rollover” the language with the stipulation that BU 15 employees can ask for additional safety equipment such as freezer gear coats. This means the higher authorities are recognizing that these are reasonable requests, and they will respond to them in a timely manner. Plus, if our Unit 15 workers are at a facility that holds safety meetings, our workers can address the issue directly with the Labor Relations Advocate (LRA) on site.

BU 15 Chair Eric Murray and the team also proposed new language for Article 21.26.15 that covered Section B. The State responded that when feasible, in the event of unanticipated staff shortages where staff are covering shortages in addition to those normally assigned, departments may initiate a modified cleaning program. “When feasible” is critically important because up to this point, the State has been utilizing our custodians to cover multiple routes, and now this new language opens up overtime to cover the routes or it becomes a modified route to cover minimal needs. This will relieve a significant burden for the worker in question.

Unit 15 made three additional proposals to the State, including:

• Article 19.14.15 – Overtime Distribution for Employees (CDCR – Adult Programs) (Unit 15)
• Article XX.XX.XX In Service Training Overtime (Unit 15)
• Article 10.25.15 – Infectious Disease Control (Unit 15)
• Article 11.16.15 – Cooks Classification (Unit 15) – rollover agreement proposal
• Article 13.19.15 – State-Required Training (Unit 15) – rollover agreement proposal

“19.14.15 is an example of the important language we are implementing for our CSC’s working in the correction environment,” said Garth Underwood, BU 15 Vice Chair and a CDCR Correctional Supervising Cook at Ironwood State Prison. “It always has and always will be an issue. This proposal will correctly address a majority of the correction issues for our supervising cooks, and it shows that seniority matters.”

While fairly simple, 19.14.15 includes important clarifying language, including but not limited to the following changes:

• In Section A, we remove “will endeavor to” and replace with “shall” reduce the amount of mandatory overtime.
• In Section B, we recommend replacing “will” with “shall” be considered.
• In Section C, we clarify and define the beginning and end of an employee’s RDO.
• In Section D, we again remove “will” and replace with “shall” be required. We are moving two (2) “double” replacing with overtime shifts of any length within the employee’s scheduled workweek. No changes to Sections E, F, or G.
• In Section H, we remove “will endeavor to” and replace with “shall” afford overtime…

You can read further details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

XX.XX.XX IST Overtime is a completely new concept for BU 15 that has been used by other units working within the California Department of Corrections (CDCR). As is generally acknowledged, Unit 15 classifications that work and attend IST in CDCR institutions post and bid for their spots. This process guarantees the employee their RDOs, shifts, and yard they work on. However, some management teams randomly remove their employees from their shift and adjust employee RDOs to ensure IST attendance. While employee training may be conducted during regular work hours or during the employee’s off-duty hours, we strongly believe employees should be compensated for their time, and no adjustments should be made unless the employee is requesting this change.

The team made an additional proposal for overtime checks that was rejected. The reason given by the State is as follows:

Due to the fact that we are transitioning to bi-weekly pay, the State does not want to add contract language that references the new system and thus potentially affect our overtime language. Per the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), there is no requirement that an overtime check has to be delivered by the 15th of the month. However, the California State Payroll (CSP) system will strive to do so.

Unit 15’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 15. On Tuesday, May 9, bargaining units 1, 3, 4, 14, and 17 will return to the table. Master table negotiations resume on Wednesday, May 10.

To read about what happened in Monday’s Bargaining Unit 11, 20, and 21 sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Monday, May 1, 2023

On Monday, May 1, 2023, the Unit 15 Bargaining team once again met with the State in an effort to get the 4,500+ hard-working SEIU Local 1000 allied service workers across California the respect, workplace protection, and pay they deserve.

The team proposed and reached Tentative Agreement (TA) on the following two rollover language items:

• 9.19.15 – Light/Limited Duty Assignments (Unit 15)
• 10.34.15 – Building Temperature During Night Shift (Unit 15)

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 15 made one additional proposal to the State:

• 19.13.15 Overtime Distribution for Employees (Excluding CDCR-Adult Programs) (Unit 15)

The team began by explaining the importance of this proposal, a point not lost on BU 15 members. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that this proposal is every bit as important as money to our allied service workers,” said BU 15 Chair Eric Murray.

The proposal itself is fairly simple, with the team working to keep the original intent of this language while clarifying and making the language more definitive, including:

• Adding new language in Section A stating that management shall utilize the voluntary system before resorting to the involuntary system.
   
• Removing “endeavor to” from the language in Section C, which states the department shall refrain from assigning employee’s mandatory overtime on the employee’s Regular Day Off (RDO). In this same section the team detailed the beginning and end of an employee’s RDO.
   
• Changing the language in Section D from “(2) double shifts” to “overtime shifts of any length” within the employee’s scheduled workweek.

Sections E, F, G remain unchanged.

While the conversation between the State and BU 15 has been professional and productive, Murray was quick to share the credit. “While we’ve given some impactful statements, the work our members and leadership team has done is responsible for getting us to this point. We’ve had these conversations in our Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC) meetings, so discussing mandatory overtime and overtime distribution is not something new. The State knows what we’re talking about and they know it’s a problem. There’s only so much overtime our employees can work,” added Murray, a sentiment the State seemed to take to heart.

Unit 15’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 8. On Tuesday, May 2, bargaining units 1, 3, 4, 14, and 17 will return to the table. Master table negotiations resume on Wednesday, May 3.

To read about what happened in Monday’s Bargaining Unit 11, 20, and 21 sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Monday, April 24, 2023

The Unit 15 Bargaining team, led by Chair Eric Murray, once again met with the State on Monday, April 24. It was a difficult but productive day for the team, which signed seven Tentative Agreements (TAs) and presented numerous high priority proposals demanding that the State show the 4,500+ SEIU Local 1000 allied service workers across the state the monetary respect they deserve.

Joseph Kochetta, a custodian who has worked for the California Department of General Services (DGS) for seven (7) years and now works in the crime lab, spelled out his value loud and clear while discussing the hardships he faces on a daily basis. “We’re not unskilled labor,” said Kochetta. “We have a multitude of training processes that we go through, including Covid-related, in order to keep the labs clean and safe for the technicians. We deal with blood and air-borne pathogens, and if we don’t do things the right way, evidence gets thrown out.”

“We supervise inmate workers by guiding and training them,” added Murray. “We prepare them for their future outside of prison by giving them a solid job skill to be productive members of society.”

The team presented several proposals, including:

• 12.11.15 Uniform replacement Allowance (Unit 15)
  • Moved $1,000 uniform allowance
  • $200 tax-free shoe allowance
  • Allocates $1,500 for CSC’s
  • California Prison Industry Authority (PIA) Custodians to receive a set amount of uniforms 
• 21.26.15 Custodial Routes (Unit 15)
  • The team added a new paragraph that addresses staff shortages to ensure departments include a modified cleaning program when short of staff to prevent multiple duties during their scheduled shifts. Custodial staff is currently asked to cover other areas, leading to back-to-back eight (8) hour shifts in one day.
• 11.XX.15 Special Salary Adjustments (Custodial Alternative Range for Medical Cleaning (Unit 15)
  • This proposal features new language that eliminates the requirements of supervisors to add paperwork to time cards to prove inmates are wards, thus streamlining the process. The proposal also adds $110 to inmate supervision pay.
• 11.1.15 Special Salary Adjustments (Unit 15)
  • For custodians who work in 24-hour facilities, our position is that this work is more technical and complex than more traditional office-based custodial duties and merits higher pay. Our 24- hour custodians do a higher-level cleaning and require a higher level of skill due to the deeper hospital-level cleaning their job calls for. 
    
    The team proposed that the whole unit be uplifted 30% beginning on July 1, 2023. This reflects the difficulty in attracting and retaining employees because of the low pay in our classes.

The team also presented several rollover agreements, signaling our desire to leave the existing language unchanged and thus retain the hard-won rights from previous contract campaigns. These agreements include:

1. 8.24.15 DDS Vacation Scheduling System for Common Level of Care (LOC) Nursing Staff in Bargaining Unit 15
2. 11.22.15 INTENTIONALLY EXCLUDED
3. 10.14.15 Personal Alarms-CDCR (Unit 15)
4. 10.16.15 Alarm System: DDS and DSH (Unit 15)
5. 10.20.15 Active Treatment Crisis Management, Therapeutic Strategies and Interventions Training or Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, (CPI) (Unit 15)
6. 13.18.15 Employee Group Meeting (Unit 15)
7. 19.33.15 Call-in Procedures (Unit 15)

The team also reported back to the State on the severity of their plight as a whole. “There is something horribly wrong with this picture,” said Susanna Redfearn, a Correctional Supervising Cook at Avenal State Prison. “How can an employee of the fourth largest economy in the world be threatened with homelessness? But the sobering truth is a lot of state employees face this threat every day. Making decisions on whether they put food on their table, pay a utility bill, or go to the doctor and pay for their medications. How is this even acceptable by those who have the power to change it, yet haven’t?”

“We took a 10% cut in pay while private sector grocery workers received a 10% raise during Covid,“ added Pete Garza, a Correctional Supervising Cook at Valley State Prison who has worked for the state for 19 years and never seen a significant raise.

Unit 15’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 1. On Tuesday, April 25, bargaining units 1, 3, 4, 14, and 17 will hold their second sessions at the table. Master table negotiations resume on Wednesday, May 3.

To read about what happened in Monday’s Bargaining Unit 11, 20, and 21 sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Bargaining Unit 15 Recap: Monday, April 17, 2023

On Monday, April 17, Bargaining Unit 15 met with State for the first time in 2023 to lift up the concerns of over 4,500 allied service workers across the state. The inaugural session was led by Bargaining Unit 15 Chair Eric Murray, who opened by making a heartfelt plea to the State concerning the value Unit 15 brings.

“All of our proposals that we will be presenting to you over the next several weeks are very meaningful and important to our membership and my team. Some may seem strange or exotic to your team, but they are very meaningful for our workers.” Murray’s words seemed to resonate well, and the State responded that they will seek to understand our unit issues, will ask for clarification if they don’t understand, and will consider all of the proposals we present.

The session featured two Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC) Tentative Agreements (TA) that were not rollover language:

• JLMC TA 5.16.15 applies to custodians and features clean-up language that adds new groups to the negotiating table for the first time, including custodians working for:
  • CA Highway Patrol
  • Employment Development Department
  • CA State Lottery
  • CA Dept. of Education
  • Dept. of Motor Vehicles
  • Dept. of Developmental Services
• JLMC TA 5.18.15 applies to food service workers. Within our contract, we have two separate languages – one for the California Department of Corrections (CDCR) and one for everyone else. This TA adds the following departments to the latter group:
  • CalVet
  • CA Department of Education
  • CA Conservation Corps
  • CA Highway Patrol
  • Department of Developmental Services
  • Department of State Hospitals
• This TA is also more inclusive in nature due to the fact that it adds one more representative seat to the non-service food workers

In addition to the Tentative Agreements, several subject matter experts came to the table to tell their stories to the State in person.

Karen Maddox-Long, who works for the Departmental of General Services (DGS) as a custodian within the LA metro area, told a poignant story that left listeners in tears. “The hiring process is so hard, it’s impossible to hire people. That means I end up cross-covering multiple jobs. We’re the backbone of the state. If we didn’t do what we do, the state — you — wouldn’t be sitting in a clean office.”

“My parking costs alone come to $880 a month, which is nearly half of my paycheck,” added Bill Suhar, who works for the DGS in Riverside.

Unit 15’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for April 24. On Tuesday, April 18, Bargaining units 1,3, 4, 14, and 17 will hold their first sessions at the table. Master table negotiations resume on Wednesday, April 19.

To read about what happened in Monday’s Bargaining Unit 11, 20, and 21 sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Highlights from Unit 4 Tentative Agreement

Early Saturday morning, the SEIU Local 1000 bargaining team reached an overall Tentative Agreement with the State. If ratified, the contract would significantly raise the wage floor for tens of thousands of state workers. It represents the largest three-year contract in Local 1000 history.

At the master table, we negotiated a retroactive pay raise for all employees, won retroactive special salary adjustments for more than 300 job classifications, maintained the health care stipend with no expiration date, reduced the pre-retirement (OPEB) funding, secured a health facility retention payment, and added, changed, or preserved a number of skill-based differentials, allowances, and other reimbursements that factor into our state income. Our general salary increase, our wage equity increase, and our unit-based Special Salary Adjustments are retroactive to July 1, 2023.

Here are the highlights from the Unit 4 (Office and Allied workers) bargaining table:

23 different classifications in Unit 4 received pay increases of 5% (11.1.4 Special Salary Increases). Another 41 classifications received 4% (11.5 Wage Equity Adjustment). These increases are on top of the general salary increase, retroactive to July 1, 2023, and pensionable. You can read a complete list of classifications affected by these increases here.

We increased the Lottery Sales Scratcher Bonus (11.27.4) by 12%. It was the first adjustment in this incentive program in more than 20 years, and stronger language ensures that the bonus structure is consistent year-to-year. These improvements were recommended by a Joint Labor Management Committee and won at the bargaining table.

New language (11.XXX.4) expands the geographic reach of the Recruitment and Retention Differential paid to Legal Secretaries and Sr. Legal Typists to now include Fresno and Sacramento Counties. (Pay Differential 141) 

Office Technicians and Sr. Legal Typists working at the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR’s) Division of Worker’s Compensation Appeals Board, who have a court reporting certificate or equivalency, now qualify for a 5% pay differential.

Another new contract section (5.XX.4) creates a new statewide Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC) for Unit 4 DMV employees to address statewide issues, not just local or regional concerns. This powerful too allows our Union the opportunity to make changes in the workplace in between contract bargaining.

We also preserved an important contract provision: the Unit 4 Upward Mobility Task Force (5.13.4). This group will continue meeting to update recommendations and best practices for upward mobility programs providing career development for Unit 4 employees.

This email summary shares highlights from the Unit 4 table; you may have already received the email recap from the master table. During the ratification process, you’ll be able read and learn more detail about the Tentative Agreement. Besides email, we’ll be posting information about our Tentative Agreement on our Contract Action Center page.

What happens next?

To become a contract, our Tentative Agreement must go through a number of steps in order to become law and the document that governs our working relationship with the State. Those steps include approval by the Statewide Bargaining Advisory Committee, a ratification vote by Local 1000 membership, legislative approval, and the Governor’s signature. Click here to read more about what steps we’ll be taking.

Bargaining Unit 4 update for July 13, 2023

Your Unit 4 Bargaining Team is reaching out to give you an update on our negotiations on behalf of the Office and Allied Workers we represent. Our last Unit 4 bargaining session with the State was on June 27. A number of Unit 4 proposals are still outstanding, and another group of Unit 4-related proposals—largely economic—are being negotiated at the master table.

Here are some things you need to know:

Where does bargaining go from here?
Watch this July 13 video message from Irene Green, Local 1000 Vice President for Bargaining.

Unit-specific bargaining, along with negotiations at the master table, are being scheduled on a day-to-day basis. When there’s activity at the table, we’ll email and post the results, often on the same day. Click here to read all the recaps of bargaining activity.

What is the status of our contract?
As you know, we have not yet reached an overall tentative agreement on a new contract with the State. Our rights are still protected under the terms of our previous contract, which expired on June 30. Please remember that the $260 health care stipend had a June 30 sunset clause, and will not be included in your August paycheck. That issue is part of our current negotiations.

You can read about your current contract rights in this mobile-friendly, searchable database.

What actions can I take to win a good contract?
As the bargaining team works to achieve meaningful progress at the table, it’s important that we keep our focus on Union solidarity and strength building. It’s true, that in order for our demands to be heard, Local 1000-represented employees need to stand together. More than ever, taking action in the workplace is an important show of strength. More actions will follow, but stand up now for a contract that Respects Us! Protects Us! and Pays Us!

 Stay informed with all the bargaining news at our Contract Action Central web page.

Bargaining Unit 4 Recap: Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Unit 4 has been negotiating through the weekend to make the needs of members heard. After the State’s unreasonable 6% general salary increase offer, Unit 4 brought these issues to the State this week as they fight for a contract that addresses the ongoing needs of state workers, defending and expanding their rights in the workplace.

Over the weekend, Unit 4 negotiators passed the following rollover article sections to the State:

• 11.31.4 – California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) Call Center Differential (Unit 4)
• 11.32.4 – California State Lottery (CSL) Call Center Differential (Unit 4)
• 11.33.4 – Employment Development Department (EDD) Call Center Differential (Unit 4)
• 11.35.4 – California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) Call Center
• Differential (Unit 4)
• 11.36.4 – State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) Call Center Differential (Unit 4)
• 11.66.4 – Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Call Center Differential (Unit 4)
• 11.67.4 – Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Toll Collectors’ Night Shift (Unit 4)
• 11.68.4 – Health Benefit Exchange Call Center Differential (Unit 4)
• 11.69.4 – Department of Managed Health Care Call Center Differential (Unit 4)

“This situation looks promising for Unit 4, although we are working with the same Chief Negotiator as the master table,” said Bargaining Unit 4 Chair Karen Jefferies. “The pace has been going slowly with both tables being very demanding. We haven’t allowed their concerns to rush conversations about our member’s needs.”

Today, Bargaining Unit 4 Representatives reached a tentative agreement on the following article:

5.XX.4 – DMV Joint Labor Management Committee

After weeks of negotiation, the State came back to the table with a counterproposal to create a JLMC, which represents a hard-fought win for Unit 4.

“This JLMC language is a big win for our represented members,” said Tom Krieger, Vice Chair, Bargaining Unit 4. “The State recognized that we needed a statewide JLMC to address the issues that are plaguing DMV across the state.”

Previously, ongoing negotiations about working conditions at DMV would be addressed workplace-to-workplace, creating no consistent standard and limiting employee’s abilities to engage with their employer on issues.

“We passed it across the table three times,” said Terry Gray, BUNC Member, Bargaining Unit 4. “It’s very good to see this important win at the table that will impact workload, the changes in technology in the workplace, and our health and safety. Our members will have a voice at the table to discuss their working conditions across the state on an ongoing basis.”

As negotiations continue, our member’s voices are crucial bargaining tools at the table, both as member impact stories, which provided much-needed personal perspectives at the table, as well as by directly contacting the State’s representatives to show them the impact their decisions will have on the public.

“We emailed Steven Gonzalez-Lederer, CalHR’s Unit 4 LRO, and he didn’t know if he’d gotten it because his email was so full,” said Freda Legree, BUNC Member, Bargaining Unit 4. “We think this is because our members have been emailing him so much, bombarding their emails and telephones with demands for respect at the table.”

To help with bargaining, the team is asking for member impact stories, focusing on our demands for a general salary increase from the State at the master table.

”The State needs to hear the truth about our member’s struggles at home and on the job,” said Nikia Brisco, BUNC Member, Bargaining Unit 4, who delivered her own statement to the State today. “I didn’t need to write down my impact statement. It’s my reality. We’re renters, and our landlords ask for more and more every year. We’re paying more than half of our checks towards rent, and we are worried about feeding our families. We’re a paycheck away from sleeping in our cars, and some already are.”

Unit 4 plans to return to the table next week. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org

Winning a good contract starts with you. Don’t just belong to the Union, participate.  Sign up for our Silent Protest March in Sacramento on June 29.

Bargaining Unit 4 Recap: Tuesday, June 20, 2023

There were mixed results today at the Unit 4 bargaining table, and our team continues to be frustrated by the lack of respect shown by the State as we work to advance the wages and working conditions for the Office and Allied workers we represent.

“The State’s problematic behavior is slowing progress,” said Karen Jefferies, Chair, Bargaining Unit 4. “They are responding to our proposals slowly, and it appears that they’re not prepared to have substantive conversations on our issues.”

In one example, the State didn’t want to even recognize or respect the hard work of a Joint Labor-Management Committee (JLMC) regarding the Scratcher Sales Bonus for CA Lottery employees. Rather than following the recommendations of this JLMC, State negotiators are instead proposing takeaways. What’s worse, this is a JLMC that was formed at the suggestion of the State to solve a hotly-contested economic issue that hasn’t been updated in more than two decades.

Unit 4 has proposed the formation of another JLMC, to focus and solve a range of issues at DMV. After research and a thoughtful presentation—made weeks ago—the State still isn’t been willing to negotiate.

“They’re giving us a number of excuses, many of which we’ve heard before,” said Tom Krieger Vice Chair of Bargaining Unit 4. “They’re either unprepared or don’t have the authority to bargain.”

There are a number of outstanding proposals from both sides of the table that are still unresolved. “Our team is committed to bringing home a contract, but the State has to step up,” added Jefferies.

Today, we reached tentative agreement with the State on these contract sections, preserving our rights from previous contract wins:

• 11.23.4 – Out Of State Pay Differential
• 11.37.4 – Dictaphone Differential
• 13.36.4 – Library Technical Assistant (Safety) Upward Mobility

After a number of back-and-forth offers, we proposed contract section 1.2.4 – Designation of Confidential Positions – as rollover language, and several of our economic proposals were moved to the master table for further negotiations.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 4 returns to the table next week, on Tuesday, June 27. However, with just ten days remaining until our contract expires, bargaining sessions could happen at any time.

To keep updated, and to see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Bargaining Unit 4 Recap: Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Unit 4 continues to negotiate with representatives from the State this week, as they fight for a contract that addresses the critical needs of workers across the state and defends their existing rights in the workplace.

Today, the State rejected two of our new language proposals listed here:

• 10.XXX.4 – Wellness and Recovery
• 11.XX.4 – DWR Incentive Program

The negotiating team also agreed to move several proposals from the unit table to the master table for further negotiations.  

Unit 4 reached a Tentative Agreement on the following rollover article:

• 13.31.4 – 20/20 Program

Negotiation continues on the following two articles

• 1.2.4 – Designation of Confidential Positions (Unit 4)
• 11.27.4 – California State Lottery (CSL) Scratcher Sales Bonus (to be negotiated next Tuesday, June 20^th)

The issues that are being rejected are safety issues, without major financial implications for the State. The State is responsible for all of its employees when they’re on the job, and Unit 4 employees are not receiving the protection and respect that we are owed.

“Our members have made their demands clear, and the State is ignoring them,” said Unit 4 Chair Karen Jefferies. “We can’t go another three years without a definite end to these issues, and we will not accept our members’ needs being ignored.”

“The State does not share our priorities here,” said Alternate Vice Chair Jose Eric Alcaraz.

While Unit 4 received a single rollover today, this is not addressing the issues proposed by our members. Our member’s basic concerns and needs regarding health and safety need to be answered.

“Unit 4 workers put our lives on the line for the state,” said Bargaining Team Member Terry Gray “At the table, we’re discussing issues of safety, of work-life balance, of overwork and taking on multiple jobs in our workplaces. These are not economic issues; they are making it clear they will not prioritize our safety.”

Conflict within the departments on implementation, standardization, and fairness have been an ongoing issue the State is forced to manage. By not taking the necessary steps here and now, this will be kicked down the road while not providing for the needs of the people impacted. 

“State workers should be mad as hell that they are in this position due to the State’s inaction and unwillingness to lead,” said Gray. “Some departments are interested in doing better, but when the State sets an example like this, they are failing their workforce and the public we serve.”

Our bargaining team is interested in change, not more of the same. Three more years without concrete protections for the workers that kept California afloat during the pandemic is not in the best interest of the State, our members, or the people of California.

“There are consequences for having Unit 4 employees taking on unsafe work assignments and being mandated to work on their regular days off,” said Jefferies. “The State needs to be accountable for these issues and stop skirting that responsibility.”

Unit 4 returns to the table next week, on Tuesday, June 20. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

If you are a member, help support the bargaining team by purpling up on Wednesday and attending our upcoming rally in Los Angeles on June 22.

Bargaining Unit 4 Recap: Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Unit 4 continues to negotiate with representatives from the State this week, as they fight for a contract that provides real solutions to ongoing issues in workplaces across the state while respecting, protecting, and paying every state worker what they’re worth.

This week, the State countered one proposal made by the Unit 4 negotiating team:

• Article 1.2.4 - Designation of Confidential Positions (Unit 4)

In addition, one new language section was proposed by Unit 4:

• Article 10.XXX.4 – Wellness and Recovery Time

“Our new language articles today were focused on health and safety, which are priorities for our members, who have been struggling with these issues for far too long in their workplaces,” said Unit 4 Chair Karen Jefferies.

“Our wellness and recovery proposal, addressing mandatory overtime, is a problem that needs to be handled,” said Jefferies. “This has been an ongoing issue for years, and it must be addressed now, not in some hypothetical future.”

However, the State rejected our proposals without providing concrete answers as to why our proposal was not worth countering. These are issues of safety in the workplace, which we and our members take extremely seriously, and we expect the State to do the same.

“We provided a thorough proposal with language that was straight to the point,” said Jefferies. “It seems that the State’s negotiators expect Unit 4 members to do whatever is asked of them, without addressing the safety concerns that have plagued these departments.”

The State has consistently rejected proposals without providing satisfactory explanations, failed to address issues that are common knowledge in workplaces across the State, and ignored the demands of our members to work toward a solution to resolve these issues.

While negotiations are still continuing, the disappointing lack of substantive proposals and counterproposals is delaying serious action on things that members have identified as desperately needed change.

“They talk about the problems they’re seeing at the bargaining table, not problems we’re living within our workplaces,” said Nickia Brisco, bargaining team member. “The whole reason we are here at the table is because these issues haven’t been resolved. We need to solve them together, and that takes effort on the State’s part.” 

Unit 4 returns to the table next week, on Tuesday, June 13. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s Mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 4 Recap: Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Unit 4 continues to negotiate with representatives from the State this week, with a focus on the need for more involved discussions at the table to get represented employees a contract that respects, protects, and pays every state worker.

“The process has been moving forward compared to previous weeks, so we’re hopeful that the State will recognize the protections our workers need and deserve,” said Karen Jefferies, Unit 4 Chair. “We are fighting to get this work done in a timely manner and without losing any of the gains we have already made.”

However, without more tentative agreements or counter proposals offered by the State to our new language, negotiations have slowed. Apparently, lack of preparation and delays by State negotiators interfere with getting state workers the pay, protection, and respect they deserve on the job.

Permanent Intermittent (PI) workers are often seasoned employees with years of experience, but they often lack the opportunity to advance in state service. While the state suffers from an understaffing crisis, these workers need to be supported in their careers to help solve this problem.

“We were able to keep existing protections for PI workers which allows them to convert to a full-time position as soon as a position becomes available,” said Tom Krieger, Unit 4 Vice Chair.

Unit 4 reached Tentative Agreements with the State on three sections:

• 20.13.4 – Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) – Motor Vehicle Representative PI (Unit 4)
• 19.9.4 – Exchange of Time Off – Multi-Shift Operations (Unit 4)
• 19.13.4 – Overtime Assignments for Work Week Group 2 (WWG 2) Employees (Unit 4)

Additionally, the following rollover sections were proposed:

• 1.2.4 – Designation of Confidential Positions (Unit 4)
• 13.31.4 – 20/20 Program (Unit 4)

While there is progress being made and more Tentative Agreements reached, there still remain many critical issues we want to be addressed at the table.

“They have not countered on some of the new languages we have proposed, and many of our rollover sections still are awaiting the State response,” said Jose “Eric” Alcaraz, Unit 4 Alternate Vice Chair.

These outstanding rollovers do not carry a financial cost to the State and relate to existing protections enjoyed by state workers. The team is waiting to hear back on these issues as bargaining continues.

“It’s important that our negotiations with the State conform to past practices, and one of those practices is getting articles across in a timely manner, sharing information, and really negotiating,” said Terry Gray, bargaining team member.

As our contract expiration date approaches, it’s important for the State to come to the table prepared to discuss the issues that matter to our represented workers.

“True dialog over these protections is important,” said Jefferies. “We want the State to recognize this and come to the table ready to discuss and counter our new language and rollover articles.”

Unit 4 returns to the table next week, on Tuesday, June 6. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s Mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 4 Recap: Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Bargaining Unit 4 continued to negotiate with representatives from the State this week, with a focus on the need for consistent and fair treatment for workers across the state.

“We are disappointed with the lack of movement on the State’s part, but we’re pushing ahead and addressing their questions and trying to make our member’s needs heard,” said Karen Jefferies, Unit 4 Chair. “Our members have made very specific demands, which need to be respected.”

The State faces a lot of inefficiencies in its workforce, especially without strong universal standards across workplaces. The State can solve these issues at the table through negotiations with Unit 4 when they come to the table with solutions in mind.

“We took time to explain and go into detail on our members needs on the issues at the table today,” said Jose Eric Alcarez, Unit 4 Alt-Vice Chair. “We are focused on the changes our members have called for, and we’re demonstrating in detail the importance of these issues while we’re at the table.

BU 4 passed the following new language proposal to the State:

•  5.XX.4 – JLMC DMV (Unit 4)

We are looking for consistency statewide within DMV to maintain fairness for all of our members. This impacts our workers and the public they serve. We need to send a consistent message to Californians, not regional variations that confuse the public and frustrate employees.

“We’ve had this JLMC for well over eight years informally, and we have stated this over the table several times,” said Tom Krieger Unit 4 Vice Chair. “The State is willing to include this provision, so we hope to see a tentative agreement reached on this issue soon. It benefits both workers and the state.”

Additionally, the bargaining team proposed the following rollover sections to the State:

• 11.67.4 – Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Toll Collectors’ Night Shift
• 19.9.4 – Exchange of Time Off – Multi-Shift Operations
• 19.13.4 – Overtime Assignments for Work Week Group 2 (WWG 2) Employees
• 20.13.4 – Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) – Motor Vehicle Representative Permanent Intermittent

This rollover language includes language that protects Permanent Intermittent employees and provides opportunities for them to become permanent employees. This established a path for a strong retirement for workers and increasing employee retention, a long-standing issue, for the State.

11 sections remain where we have made a proposal and are waiting for a response. With our contract expiration date approaching, the State knows that time is running out. We have not received any TAs this session.

“What we’re asking for, especially with the JLMC, is not unreasonable,” said Jefferies. “We’re asking the State to come to the table with DMV decision makers prepared to address these issues.”

Unit 4 returns to the table next week, on Tuesday, May 30^th. To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 4 Recap: Tuesday, May 16, 2023

We are entering our fourth week of bargaining with the State for a contract that respects, protects, and pays the workers who have kept California running. The bargaining team  for Office and Allied Workers represented by Local 1000, Bargaining Unit 4, went to the table on May 16 to reiterate to the State that the needs of their workers should be the priority at the table.

The sections we sent over for rollover included the following:

• 11.21.4 – Recruitment and Retention Differential for Accounting Clerk Series
• 11.23.4 – Out of State Pay Differential
• 11.37.4 – Dictaphone Differential
• 11.38.4 – Calendaring Differential (CUIAB)

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

After rollovers were sent, the team discussed our items that have not been responded to, and the State had nothing to offer. The State has taken a long time returning any articles, even those that would create new protections for our state workers.  “The articles that have not been addressed by the State are infuriating,” said Chair Karen Jefferies. “For example, section 10.XX.4, Transportation and Disposal of Bodily Fluids, and 10.XXX.4, Wellness and Recovery Time, are two important sections that address our core issue of protection in the workplace.   Bargaining Unit 4 employees across departments are being asked to do tasks that are outside their job specs and beyond their work capacity, which creates risks of danger for employees.”  Our members need protection,” said Jefferies

“We take a lot of time with our language and make sure that it’s complete and in compliance with our member’s needs,” said bargaining team  member Terry Gray. “We expect the State  to either counter or TA the proposal, and the State is not doing the work.”

The bargaining team will continue to negotiate with the State to ensure that their unit’s needs are met by their employer.

Unit 4’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 23. To read about what happened in Monday’s Bargaining Unit 11, 20, and 21 sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 4 Recap: Tuesday, May 2, 2023

We are entering our third week of bargaining with the State for a contract that respects, protects, and pays the workers who have kept California running. The Bargaining Unit Negotiating Committee (BUNC) for Office and Allied Workers represented by Local 1000, Bargaining Unit 4, went to the table on May 2 to bring a focus on the dangerous situations that state workers have faced and to demonstrate the protections that we need on the job.

The Team proposed one article as a “rollover,” signaling our desire that the existing language remains unchanged, keeping in place the hard-won rights from previous contract campaigns. The rollover article is the following:

• 13.11.4 – Upward Mobility and Training 

Additionally, they proposed two new articles. These articles are intended to address issues not covered in our current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

New Language – 10.XX.4 – Transport of Bodily Fluids/Specimens (Prohibits management from mandating Unit 4 to collect, handle, or transport bodily fluid/specimen)

New Language – 10.XXX.4 – Wellness and Recovery Time (Creates a mandatory 48 hour “off work/recovery” time when employees work 8 consecutive days or more than 200 hours in a pay period)

The first new language proposal on the Transport of Bodily Fluids/Specimens addresses the longstanding issue of Unit 4 employees being told to perform tasks outside their roles as Office & Allied Workers.

Unit 4 members are not trained in handling bodily fluids and cleaning up biohazards. “Our training is an overview of what an airborne or blood borne pathogen is, not how to handle these samples,” said BUNC member Nicole Crist. “Our members are support staff. It’s not in our job scope to take vitals or patient history.”

Our proposal surrounding the wellness and recovery time is a response to ongoing calls from our members to address workload issues. “This came about because there is an increase in Unit 4 employees being mandated to do overtime work,” said BUNC Chair Karen Jefferies. “We wanted to make sure that our employees’ work-life balance could be respected.”

“Mandatory overtime creates burnout,” said Crist. “It’s long past time that this issue was addressed.”

A Tentative Agreement was reached on five (5) rollover articles:

• 13.11.4 – Upward Mobility and Training
• 13.35.4 – Employee Recognition and Morale Program – Franchise Tax Board (FTB), Board of Equalization (BOE), California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), and Office of Tax Appeals (OTA)
• 14.16.4 – Program Technician Classification Series
• 14.25.4 – Dispatcher Clerk/Dispatcher Clerk, Caltrans Classification Task Force Study
• 20.14.4 – Post and Bid Program for Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 4 (S.F. Bay Area)

Of these proposals, 13.11.4 – Upward Mobility was presented by the BUNC and accepted by the State in the same session, which shows the critical need for this language, and the ability of the BUNC team to push aggressively to ensure that important protections for Unit 4 employees are maintained.

“Upward mobility has been a long-time coming, and it’s something we needed to thoroughly address,” said Crist. “Karen and her commitment to this issue made sure that it was heard.”

“We want things to move on our table, and the State is on the same page with us on this,” said Jefferies. “We’re trying to make sure that we’re putting the things that our members are asking for across the table.”

Members will continue to lead the direction of negotiations with the State through worksite actions and member statements. “We want to bring our member’s voices into the room by bringing their statements and evidence to the table,” said BUNC Alternate Vice Chair Jose Eric Alcaraz.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 4’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 9. To read about what happened in Tuesday’s other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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

Bargaining Unit 4 – Recap: Tuesday, April 25, 2023

The Bargaining Unit Negotiating Committee (BUNC) for Office and Allied Workers represented by Local 1000 Bargaining Unit 4 went to the table with the State on April 25^th for the second week of negotiations on unit-specific issues.

Unit 4 presented three articles as “rollovers,” proposing that the existing language remains unchanged, keeping in place the hard-won rights from previous contract campaigns. The rollover articles are the following:

• 13.7.4   –  Performance Standards
• 13.35.4 – Employee Recognition and Morale Program (FTB, BOE, CDTFA, OTA)
• 20.14.4 – Post and Bid Unit 4 Caltrans in District 4 (San Francisco)

Additionally, we proposed two articles for language changes. The changes are intended to address issues previously identified as needing revision.

During our last bargaining negotiations, a Joint Labor Management Committee was agreed upon. The Lottery Scratcher Sales Bonus language has not been updated since the 1990s. Now, with the input of our Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC) at the State Lottery, we were able to bring new recommendations to the table. With the recommendations of both parties at the JLMC about these changes, so the bargaining team is hopeful that the State recognizes this as a common-sense change. said Bargaining Unit Negotiating Committee (BUNC) Chair Karen Jefferies.

Finally, the State agreed to one of our rollover articles, and thus, a “Tentative Agreement” was reached on one of our proposed articles:

• 9.18.4  – Caltrans Life Insurance

This article, maintaining the existing protections of CalTrans’s life insurance policy, is important to BU4 members and is a part of the essential safety net for workers across the state.

The State’s slow pace to return proposed articles and proposals to “clean up” articles has caused some concern for the Bargaining team. “It seems like the state is haste to make changes to our articles,” said BUNC Alternate Vice-Chair Jose Eric Alcaraz. In spite of these issues, the team is able to respond. By sending proposals as rapidly or slowly as the State is considering them, the team is able to make sure the state addresses these language changes, rather than letting them linger in limbo during this process. “We don’t want to sit back and wait for them to work through a ton of proposals.”

However, some of the proposed “cleanup” language creates an unbalanced agreement that does not help our members. “The state wants to change this language to something that would be more beneficial for management than our members, said BUNC member Terry Gray. “We are looking for an equal distribution of power with these language changes, and fair language that benefits both parties.

Proposed “clean up” language from the State creates issues not only with the fairness of our contract but affects the timing of bargaining. “The languages we passed over last week was easy for the State to agree to, but they decided they wanted to hold onto the proposals,” said Jefferies. “It’s only week two, but we’re sending over proposals with minor language changes. Their attempts to ‘clean up’ this language, reworded and chipped away at the intent and strength of the language. We continue to push back on this.”

Unit 4’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 2^nd. To read about what happened in Monday’s Bargaining Unit 11, 20, and 21 sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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

Bargaining Unit 4 Recap: Monday, April 18, 2023

The Bargaining Unit Negotiating Committee (BUNC) for Office and Allied workers represented by Local 1000 Bargaining Unit 4 went to the table with the State on April 18 for the first day of negotiations on unit-specific issues.

The bargaining team knew that they were in for a fight. Karen Jefferies, Bargaining Unit Negotiating Committee (BUNC) Chair for Unit 4 says “Right now, I see us as defending years of contract legacy, the protections that we’ve secured over the years. It’s important that the language we get reflects the spirit of the membership’s original demands.”

This bargaining session focused on six non-economic articles that covered language pertaining to upward mobility, Joint Labor Management Committees (JLMCs), task forces, and classification studies. These are crucial tools for state workers to take advantage of their training and expertise to develop their careers and maximize their time in state service.

The State’s negotiators were surprised when the BUNC pushed back against what they called “clean up” changes to the article language. “The State came in trying to clean up language that they didn’t understand and hadn’t studied,” said Jose Eric Alcaraz, BUNC Alternate Vice Chair. “These are hard-won protections, and our language wasn’t chosen lightly. We were able to make them understand why we’re fighting to defend it.”

The experience of SEIU Local 1000’s negotiators was clear. “I was 19 when I started with the state; I’m 43 now,” said Nickia Brisco, a BUNC member, and employee at the Department of Consumer Affairs. “Our experience working for the state exceeds theirs. That’s why we value that language. While we’re making progress toward a stronger contract, we need to remember nothing in our contract is there by default. We have to fight for all of it.”

The bargaining team presented a number of contract articles for “rollover,” a term used to describe parts of the contract that don’t require negotiation this cycle.  The State agreed to roll over Article 5.16.4, which continues the Disability Determination Services Division JLMC. “We had good discussion and dialog,” said Alcaraz. “The chief negotiator listened and gave thoughtful responses. There’s an understanding that we both want Unit 4 to have progressive language, but it’s early, and in the end, it comes down to the language we agree on.”

Members of Unit 4 have made it clear that pay is our priority. “We’re going to have a battle over pay,” said Jefferies. “Unit 4 is the face and the backbone of the state. When the public utilizes state services their first contact with a state employee, it’s a Unit 4 classification, be it face-to-face or over the phone.  There are only eight of us at the table, but we need to have all of our represented workers and the people they serve standing behind us.”

Unit 4’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for April 25. To read about what happened in Tuesday’s Bargaining Unit 1, 3, and 17 sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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

Unit 1 Bargaining Highlights

Early Saturday morning, the SEIU Local 1000 bargaining team reached an overall Tentative Agreement with the State. If ratified, the contract would significantly raise the wage floor for tens of thousands of state workers. It represents the largest three-year contract in Local 1000 history.

At the master table, we negotiated a retroactive pay raise for all employees, won retroactive special salary adjustments for more than 300 job classifications across all units, maintained the health care stipend with no expiration date, reduced the pre-retirement (OPEB) funding, secured a health facility retention payment, and added, changed, or preserved a number of skill-based differentials, allowances, and other reimbursements that factor into our state income. Our general salary increase, our wage equity increase, and our unit-based Special Salary Adjustments are retroactive to July 1, 2023.

Here are the highlights from the Unit 1 (Professional, Administrative, Financial, and Staff Services) bargaining table:

82 different classifications in Unit 1 received pay increases ranging from 2.5% and more (11.1.1 Special Salary Increases) and 4% (11.5 Wage Equity Adjustment). These increases are on top of the general salary increase, retroactive to July 1, 2023, and pensionable. You can read a complete list of classifications affected by these increases here.

We added additional levels of differential pay for eligible Personnel Specialists, up to $4800 in the new language found in 11.25.1 – Personnel and Payroll Specialist: Recruitment & Retention Differential (Unit 1). The breakdown is as follows: 12 or more months- $2400; 24 or more months- $3,000: 36 or more- $3,600 and 48 or more months- $4800.

The Lottery sales incentive bonus (11.27.1) has been increased for the first time in decades and now includes stronger language defining the parameters of how the bonus is achieved. The bonus dollar amounts were increased by 12% at each level.

Unit 1 members who work at the California Department of Insurance (CDI) and hold an Accredited Financial Examiner (AFE) or Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) certification issued by the Society of Financial Examiners who may be required by their job duties to conduct financial examinations of foreign insurers or act as the examiner in charge of a multi-state insurer will receive a $3600 bonus, subject to eligibility.

We’ve added the Health Program Specialist II classification to the pay differential (CalHR differential 412) to contract section 11.32.1

A 5% Educational Pay Differential (11.M1.1) will be paid to Management Services Technicians, working at the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR’s) Division of Workers’ Compensation and Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, who obtain a certification of completion or proficiency from a California-recognized court reporting school.

Unit 1 employees who are FLSA-exempt, working at CAL FIRE are eligible for Pay Differential 63 – Incident Command Assignment (ICA) differential pay. (11.M2.1)

We won a Recruitment and Retention differential at the California Department of Education (CDE) ranging from 5-10%. 11.M3.1 – California Department of Education Local Assistant Budget Development Pay Differential (Unit 1) offers the differential to Staff Services Analysts and Associate Government Program analysts who are directly involved in local assistance cost and caseload estimate, and estimate methodologies submitted as part of the May budget revision, final budget, and all subsequent budget actions.

Five different classifications working at the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Disability Determination Services Division (DDSD) are eligible for a new Recruitment and Retention differential ranging from $2000-$3000 annually. 11.M4.1 offers the pay to Disability Evaluation Analyst I, II, or III, Staff Services Analyst, or Associate Governmental Program Analyst classifications.

We maintained our rights regarding the Information Technology Joint Apprenticeship Committee (5.20.1), pushing back against the State’s efforts to change the process and diminish Local 1000’s role. We also preserved a related section, 13.4.1 Information Technology (IT) Apprenticeship Agency Linkage Agreement (Unit 1).

We were able to preserve the IT Reclassification Committee language in 5.21.1.

For the Television Specialists (14.10.1), the State has agreed to conduct a classification and specification review during the term of this contract

At the master table, we were able to preserve 11.8 – Correctional Case Records Analyst Recruitment and Retention Differential of $2400.

“These are just highlights and economic gains. There are many other contract rights that were preserved, and nearly all Unit 1 language was left intact,” said Susan Rodriguez, Unit 1 Bargaining Chair. “Our Unit 1 team was diligent and thorough, and every issue got our full effort. We work to advance Unit 1 in every bargaining cycle, and we will continue that effort.

This email summary shares highlights from the Unit 1 table; you may have already received the email recap from the master table. During the ratification process, you’ll be able read and learn more detail about the Tentative Agreement. Besides email, we’ll be posting information about our Tentative Agreement on our Contract Action Center page.

What happens next?

To become a contract, our Tentative Agreement must go through a number of steps in order to become law and the document that governs our working relationship with the State. Those steps include approval by the Statewide Bargaining Advisory Committee, a ratification vote by Local 1000 membership, legislative approval, and the Governor’s signature. Click here to read more about what steps we’ll be taking.

Bargaining Unit 1 Update: Friday, August 4, 2023

Your Unit 1 bargaining team is still awaiting a response from the State regarding our proposed Special Salary Adjustments. Our team has been putting pressure on the State to continue this conversation, and we are hopeful to see some movement or response in the coming bargaining sessions. Our Unit 1 table has approximately 10 outstanding items — with most outstanding items awaiting State responses — and the team remains ready to meet on these Unit issues at a moment’s notice.

The Unit 1 bargaining team is excited to see all of our fellow members actively participating in worksite pickets and events.  Please keep up the great work and take part in all events near you.  Our POWER lies with you.

Unit-specific bargaining, along with negotiations at the master table, are being scheduled on a day-to-day basis. When there’s activity at the table, we’ll email and post the results, often on the same day. Click here to read all the recaps of bargaining activity.

As Local 1000 works to bargain a successful contract, we’ve escalated our actions to make our demand to be respected, protected, and paid.

We’ve launched the Local 1000 Hot Union Summer Pickets Campaign, with a target of 1,000 informational pickets at worksites across the state. They’re happening every day, and here’s how you can help:

Join your fellow SEIU Local 1000 members to show support for bargaining by hosting or participating in an informational picket at your worksite! Help us win a good contract, and help us reach our goal of 1,000 Pickets by August 14. Click here for more information or to start your own informational picket. For a list of upcoming pickets throughout California, please click here. 

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Monday, July 19, 2023

Your Unit 1 bargaining team met with the State on Tuesday, July 18. Our discussions focused on demanding greater respect for our represented employees at EDD and on preserving their hard-earned rights.

We’re pressing the State to retain the Permanent Intermittent conversion language as is. At the same time, we’re pushing the State for additional responses and movement on our key economic proposals. 

Unit-specific bargaining, along with negotiations at the master table, are being scheduled on a day-to-day basis. When there’s activity at the table, we’ll email and post the results, often on the same day. Click here to read all the recaps of bargaining activity.

What actions can I take to win a good contract?

As the bargaining team works to achieve meaningful progress at the table, it’s important that we keep our focus on Union solidarity and strength building. In order for our demands to be heard, SEIU Local 1000-represented employees need to stand together. So, we encourage you to sign up for our next action on July 25, 26, and 27 when we picket CalHR in Sacramento. Click here to register.

Unit 1 bargaining update for July 13, 2023

Your Unit 1 bargaining team is reaching out to give you an update on our negotiations on behalf of the Professional, Administrative, Financial, and Staff Services we represent.

Our last Unit 1 bargaining session with the State was on June 27. A number of Unit 1 proposals are still outstanding, and another group of Unit 1-related proposals—largely economic—are being negotiated at the master table. “A number of key issues for Unit 1, such as Article 12.1 Business and Travel, are master table issues, and we are focusing on those at this time,” said Susan Rodriguez, Unit 1 chair.  We continue to make sure that we are moving Unit 1 forward.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to unit1@seiu1000.org. We will respond and answer your questions as quickly as possible as much as our bargaining schedule will allow.

Here are some things you need to know:

Where does bargaining go from here?

Watch this July 13 video message from Irene Green, Local 1000 Vice President for Bargaining.

Unit-specific bargaining, along with negotiations at the master table, are being scheduled on a day-to-day basis. When there’s activity at the table, we’ll email and post the results, often on the same day. Click here to read all the recaps of bargaining activity.

What is the status of our contract?

As you know, we have not yet reached an overall tentative agreement on a new contract with the State. Our rights are still protected under the terms of our previous contract, which expired on June 30. Please remember that the $260 health care stipend had a June 30 sunset clause, and will not be included in your August paycheck. That issue is part of our current negotiations.

You can read about your current contract rights in this mobile-friendly, searchable database.

What actions can I take to win a good contract?

As the bargaining team works to achieve meaningful progress at the table, it’s important that we keep our focus on Union solidarity and strength building. It’s true, that in order for our demands to be heard, Local 1000-represented employees need to stand together. More than ever, taking action in the workplace is an important show of strength. More actions will follow, but stand up now for a contract that Respects Us! Protects Us! and Pays Us!

 Stay informed with all the bargaining news at our Contract Action Central web page.

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Our Unit 1 team—pressing to advance the pay and working conditions of our represented employees—met with the State on Saturday and again on Monday. While several tentative agreements were reached, we’re still awaiting answers on our economic proposals as we continue our fight for a number of Unit 1 classifications.

In several areas, we felt the State’s repeated resistance to recognize the commitment and contribution of Unit 1 employees, and the battles are heated and lacking a reasonable outcome, in some cases.

In one example, we were unable to reach agreement on a performance incentive for the Actuary classes. It’s troubling that the plan was created by a joint State/Union task force and recommended for new contract language by the State. It’s a frustrating conclusion after a long-time effort and multiple counteroffers.

Our efforts to update the 30-year California State Lottery Sales Incentive Bonus (affecting both Units 1 and 4) are still unresolved. Like the Actuary program, the results of a two-year effort by a joint State/Union work group are still being ironed out in the bargaining arena. We’re additionally frustrated by the State’s recent presentation of a counterproposal that left out any mention of economics. Our efforts on this issue continue.

EDD continues to use and abuse Permanent Intermittents without any effort to convert those workers to full-time status. What’s clear is that the State wants to create a “ghost workforce” that they can grow and shrink according to their needs, so much so that they’d like to take away our hard-won contract section 18.2.1 EDD PI’s Conversion and Ratio, altogether, or “hold it in abeyance” for three years.

By not observing previously-negotiated PI ratios and having a portion of EDD’s employee roster as “at will” employees, they’re creating real economic uncertainty for those workers. We continue the fight on this issue as our current contract comes to an end.

While Unit 1 is still waiting for responses on a range of economic proposals, including Special Salary Adjustments, we did reach tentative agreement on rollover language that preserves our current rights:

• 21.5.1 – Work Space Allocation
• 13.7.1 – Performance Standards

With just a few days remaining before our contract expires, Unit 1 is on standby to meet once again with the State to resolve outstanding issues. When we meet, you’ll read it here first!

To see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org

Winning a good contract starts with you. Don’t just belong to the Union, participate.  Sign up for our Silent Protest March in Sacramento on June 29.

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Our Unit 1 bargaining team reports a big day. The team reached ten different tentative agreements with the State, seven of which were economic proposals. We’re building some momentum as we face the June 30 expiration of our current contract, due in large part to the pressure we’re applying weekly to bring home a good contract for our members.

Today’s success was clouded by more frustrating behavior by State negotiators. The team saw numerous examples where the State appeared disinterested, unprepared, or lacked the authority for substantive bargaining.

“We’re getting a request to ‘discuss concepts,’ rather than the typical back-and-forth bargaining methodology,” said Susan Rodriguez. The State seems to be asking to see our cards before we play them instead of showing us their position through written responses. “We can’t make real progress until we see actual, written responses to our proposals, especially to our economic proposals.

We’re fighting to continue the reclass efforts for nearly 9,000 Information Technology workers by rolling over language from the last contract that would allow our Union and the State to review the impacts of their salary structure after a comprehensive change in IT classifications. Even though the State agrees this part of the reclass hasn’t been completed, they initially pushed back by proposing to delete the language that would allow discussions between our Union and the State to continue. But ultimately we prevailed and will be able to address this in the coming months after we win our contract.

“While we’ve trained and prepared as a bargaining team with the goal of advancing our members, we feel like CalHR (State negotiators) doesn’t know how to make progress in bargaining,” said Vincent Green, Unit 1 team member.

We experienced similar issues with the State’s behavior over our long-ignored demand to update the CA Lottery’s Scratchers sales bonus. “This bonus hasn’t been changed in 25 years, while the Lottery’s revenue has grown to $9 billion,” said team member and District Sales Representative Mike Ramos. “We talk concepts, but we still haven’t seen a formal counter-proposal.”

Our fight continues for a solution to the EDD Permanent Intermittent ratios and fair treatment for our members. We are pushing to continue the current ratios of permanent intermittent employees, so the State continues to hire enough permanent full-time Unit 1 employees to complete the work.

Our Unit 1 team reached tentative agreement on ten different contract sections today. Of those, nine were roll-over language, wins from previous contract cycles, while one had a language change. Seven of those TAs were economic proposals.

• 5.21.1 – IT Reclassification Committee 
• 11.22.1 – Institutional Worker Supervision Pay
• 11.23.1 – Out of State Pay Differential
• 11.24.1 – Bay Area Recruitment and Retention Pay Differential
• 11.26.1 – Arduous Duty Differential for FLSA employees
• 11.29.1 – Investment Officer I, II and III, Incentive Award Program
• 11.31.1 – Chartered Financial Analyst Pay Differential
• 11.33.1 – Hearing Reporters, PUC, Pay Differential
• 13.15.1 – EDD Determinations Schedule (language change)
• Side Letter 12.1 – CalEPA Agreement

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 1 returns to the table next week, on Tuesday, June 27. However, with just ten days remaining until our contract expires, bargaining sessions could happen at any time.

To keep updated, and to see updates on other bargaining unit contract sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.​

If you are a member, help support the bargaining team by purpling up on Wednesday and attending our upcoming rally in Los Angeles on June 22.

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, June 13, 2023

While the Unit 1 bargaining team has worked each week to advance the wages and working conditions of its represented employees, the State has been largely unresponsive, and the team’s frustration is growing.

Today, some incremental progress was made, reaching four tentative agreements on rollover language that preserve previous contract rights. But today, the State flatly rejected four proposals (three economic and one governing working conditions), and our team’s frustration grew.

“Not interested” was the State’s repeated answer when pressed hard for reasons behind these rejections. Our interpretation: the State’s not interested in showing Unit 1 employees respect.

Two of the rejections were proposals that were made after a joint (state-union) task force made recommendations to help with recruitment and retention for the Actuary classes. “Not interested,” said the State.

“Apparently the State isn’t committed to following its own recommendations,” said Stuart Bennett, Unit 1 team member and CalPERS actuary.

Another example: Our effort to protect FLSA-exempt workers from crushing workloads and unreasonable work-hour expectations was also met with “not interested.” “They’re ‘not interested’ in improving working conditions or the well-being of Unit 1 employees,” added team member Joyce Wheeler Owens.

The Unit 1 team is reviewing the State’s responses and contemplating the next steps. We are still waiting to receive responses on 16 outstanding proposals.

Here are the four contract sections we reached agreement with the State on today.

• 21.10.1 – Incompatible Activities
• 12.17.1 – PERS Auditor Affiliation
• 14.9.1 – Classification Study: Investigative Auditor Work Classification Study
• 14.12.1 – Personnel and Payroll Joint Management Workload Committee

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 1 is scheduled to return to the table next week, on June 20. To see updates on other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

If you are a member, help support the bargaining team by purpling up on Wednesday and attending our upcoming rally in Los Angeles on June 22.

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, June 6, 2023

One of the goals of the Unit 1 bargaining team is to improve and protect working conditions, contained in those contract sections that govern how and where we do our work. Those hard-earned rights are often as important as economic issues.

Today, we continued our back-and-forth discussions about, literally, employee workspaces. Article 21.5.1—Work Space Allocation sets standards for desk and office assignments based on job classification and other criteria. It’s your home for, often, 40 hours or more each week and we want to ensure the standards are clear and enforced.

Unit 1 team members Beth Bartel, Frank Askin, and Vincent Green led the discussion and supported the notion that current contract guidance has standards that the State hopes to remove. Negotiations continue …

We reached a tentative agreement on four “rollover” provisions that maintain previous contract wins; three of them govern working conditions while a fourth continues reimbursement for job-related license fees.

• 14.13.1 – Lead Responsibilities
• 19.9.1 – Exchange of Time Off (Multi-shift Operations)
• 19.13.1 – Overtime Assignments for Work Week Group 2 (WWG2) Employees
• 12.18.1 – Professional License Fees

We also reached tentative agreement on contract section 1.2.1 – Designation of Confidential Positions, which contains stronger language governing your working conditions rights.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Today, Bargaining Chair Susan Rodriguez pressed the State for responses, inquiring about the status of more than 20 proposals that remain unanswered by the State, including some that were presented more than a month ago. “Many key issues remain, and with just over three weeks left before the contract expires, it’s time for the State to engage now,” said Rodriguez.

Unit 1 is scheduled to return to the table next week, on June 13. To see updates on other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s Mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Frustration reigned at today’s Unit 1 bargaining table.

One of Local 1000’s long-fought battles to improve our service to California through EDD—a battle lasting more than 15 years—was again rejected by State negotiators. Contract section 13.15.1 was yet another effort to change and improve the UI determination schedule.

After more than a decade of discussion, education, conversation, and relationship building, the State once again refused to consider any changes. The State’s reply indicated the program is too complicated to change and with current projects in place it would have an upstream impact.

Meanwhile, a post-pandemic backlog remains. Claims responses are taking from 20-40 days when the system should be providing an answer in 7-10 days.

“I was hopeful that both EDD and the state could recognize that it’s not the best fit and to hear that EDD has other priorities and this [the people we serve] is not the priority,” said Unit 1 Chair Susan Rodriguez.

“I’m very disappointed that after so many years EDD doesn’t want to reflect and consider changes. EDD staff will be extremely disappointed. We have proposed reasonable improvements to management that they won’t consider because of their own priorities,” added Joyce Wheeler-Owens of the bargaining team. “EDD is ignoring the need to allot sufficient time to provide quality service to EDD clients.”

Unit 1 also proposed a new section that reflects the professional and FLSA-exempt status of its represented employees. It’s an effort to improve the working conditions faced and to ensure the opportunity for a reasonable work-life balance.

Unit 1 team member Vincent Green works in IT at DVA. “We understand work has to be done and sometimes it will be long hours. When the state shut down, it was people like me who were told ‘we need to have everyone work from home; servers have to be accessed’. Fast forward 3 years people are now coming in 1-2 days a week, so now more work needs to be done. We understand operational needs. But what is a pain point for us is we cannot have work-life balance.”

Our Unit 1 team continues to press the State to advance the workers we represent, but a lack of response to our proposals (now a total of 22) is an ongoing theme. “The State’s not demonstrating interest in our efforts, and they’re not acting like they’re interested in becoming a better employer,” added Green.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 1’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for June 6. To read about what happened our other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Unit 1 is a diverse group of professional classifications who are committed to providing vital state services, taking pride in their work.

Today, the Unit 1 team focused its efforts on stronger language governing our performance reviews (contract section 13.7.1 – Performance Standards). Our goal was to ensure that the State acknowledges that neither duty statements, expectations memos, nor performance standards require error free work.

“We are not machines, and we want to make sure the departments understand that,” said Susan Rodriguez, Unit 1 Chair. “At the worksite level, there has not been a lot of grace surrounding something as simple as a typographical error.”

“Error-free standards slow down productivity, and this is why we have checks and balances to help develop and cultivate employees,” said Beth Bartel of the Unit 1 team.

After our presentation, the State caucused and came back with a flat rejection of our changes, proposing to “roll over” the existing language. Why? The State’s team claimed the language change would diminish their ability to “write employees up” and claimed they weren’t using references to “error-free” in their job communications.

We fought back. Several team members read currently-issued department communications that proved the State wrong, including one expectations memo from DMV that said, in part, “free from typographical errors…”

Shelia Byars, a DMV employee on the Unit 1 team said, “We would like to understand how that is possible. As someone that has been writing hearing decisions for years, I do my best, but I don’t know how I can guarantee there will be no typos.  This has never been in an expectations memo before.”

Myriad examples of the State’s frustrating behavior surfaced; team member Karen Devoll shared instances where CCRAs precisely followed department orders in calculating release dates, then were written up for errors those instructions caused. “I take pride in what I do,” said Karen. “I’m also a human being, not a machine.”

We will continue to demand that the State Respect Us!

Today’s other key bargaining theme was the State’s continued lack of response to our proposals. While Unit 1 continues the effort to advance our represented employees, the State’s lead negotiator says he’s “not authorized” and “doesn’t have the direction to move forward.” Still, the June 30 deadline looms large, and Unit 1 Chair Susan Rodriguez continues to press the State for responses to 20 unanswered proposals.

“Unit 1 comes to the table prepared to bargain in a professional and productive manner, and we are deeply disappointed by the State’s response,” said Joyce Wheeler Owens of Unit 1’s team.

We did reach agreement on three earlier proposals, all rollovers of previous contract wins:

• 12.16.1 – Aviation Safety Officer (Unit 1)
• 12.24.1 – Extended Travel, Department of Insurance (Unit 1)
• 13.10.1 – Education and Training (Unit 1)

Unit 1 returns to the table next week, on Tuesday, May 30. To see updates on other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, May 16, 2023

In a day marked by highs and lows, our Unit 1 bargaining team— Professional Administrative, Financial, and Staff Services—returned to the table with State negotiators, continuing the fight to demand recognition and respect for the Unit 1 employees we represent.

Facing untenable workloads because of a unit-wide vacancy rate of 1 in 4 jobs, we arepleased at reaching tentative agreement on contract section 5.17.1 – Recruitment and Retention Committee (Unit 1).

“This R and R committee is an important tool for Unit 1, and retaining the committee in our contract empowers us to talk about solutions before the situation gets worse,” said Susan Rodriguez, Unit 1 Chair. You’ll recall that just last week, we used the work of the committee established by 5.17.1 to inform a range of economic proposals presented.

On the other side of the day’s ledger, we were shocked by a State-originated proposal to delete contract section 18.2.1- EDD PI’s Conversion and Ratio (Unit 1).

The battle over the use (and numbers) of Permanent Intermittent employees is a long one, stretching back more than a decade. The State claims the deletion of the entire section allows the department to respond to unexpected workload demand brought on by recession or pandemic. Here’s the challenge: across the long fight and many “economic challenges,” EDD has struggled to comply with the conversion and ratios spelled out in the contract.

“This an unacceptable affront to our demand for respect,” said Carolyn Alluis, Unit 1 bargaining team member. “It’s another example of ignoring the full-time staff, already overworked, without new full-time hires. Who will do the work when qualified employees leave due to a lack of respect?”

In addition, we gave the State a counter proposal on Section 13.15.1 – EDD Determination Scheduling Standard. “We will continue the fight to achieve reasonable workloads and the respect the EDD workforce deserves for their commitment and service,” added Unit 1 Chair Susan Rodriguez.

We reached tentative agreement on four additional contract sections, “rollovers” that keep our hard-earned rights intact.

• 13.16.1 – Employee Recognition and Morale Program – Franchise Tax Board (FTB), Board of Equalization (BOE), California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), and Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) (Unit 1).
•  13.17.1 – Independent Research/Professional Papers (Unit 1)
• Side Letter 8.1 – EDD Tax Tools October 19, 2000
• Side Letter 9.1 – EDD Quality Assurance Review (QAR)

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 1’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 23. To read about what happened in Tuesday’s other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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 8 March to the Governor’s mansion here.

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Unit 1 is our Union’s largest and most diverse bargaining unit, representing classifications in Professional Administrative, Financial, and Staff Services … and today, one in four Unit 1 positions are vacant. Workloads are untenable, driving the loss of qualified employees and diminishing our service to the state.

Today, we proposed a series of pay adjustments intended to reward the value of our Unit 1 employees, and we did it with presentations made by four members of our bargaining team and five additional Unit 1 subject matter experts from across the state.

We believe that our path to respect is to tell the real story of state workers and to prevent the State from considering us as line items on a spreadsheet.

“I’m proud to serve the public with these people,” said Susan Rodriguez, Unit 1 Chair. “Today they will tell you (the State) about the work they do and how they serve our communities and our constituents.”

We proposed Special Salary Adjustments (SSA) for 56 classifications in 27 different series. Members of the Unit 1 Bargaining Team who made presentations were:

• Carolyn Alluis, Management Services Technician, DIR
• Delores Bonner, Staff Services Analyst, DOT
• Jean Colyer, Right of Way Agent, DOT
• Gina Crawford, Research Data Specialist II, CalPERS

They were joined by five additional Unit 1 subject matter experts:

• David Aguinaldo, Business Tax Specialist I, CDTFA
• Cloria “CJ” Barnes, Personnel Specialist, CDCR 
• Dan Gargas, Aviation Safety Officer II, DOT
• Michelle Levy, Senior Legal Analyst, DOJ Attorney General’s Office
• Tommy Rico, Television Specialist, CDCR 

“I’m advocating for a change in a classification that hasn’t been touched by the state since 1990, the year I was born.” – Tommy Rico

“I’m stressed by the changes over many years that have made my classification more demanding, and more in demand.” – Michelle Levy

“We’re demanding Respect for our contribution, to Pay Us for our commitment, and to Protect Us to keep the quality of our life from slipping further behind in this economy.” – Jean Colyer

“One machine can do the work 50 ordinary men, but no machine can do the work of an extraordinary Personnel Specialist.” – Cloria Barnes

Another new proposal addresses Recruitment and Retention adjustments in 10 different series and a total of 29 classifications. These were identified in a report jointly created by a team from Local 1000 and CalHR. You can read the report here on the Unit 1 website.  Of note: This committee and the report was itself the result of Article 5.17.1, a win from our 2020 contract, addressing this important issue.

We presented one additional proposal, Article 11.XXXX.1 – Operational Availability Incentive Program, DWR (Unit 1). This mirrors an existing program in Unit 11. And, keeping our negotiations moving forward, we reached a tentative agreement with the State on Article 21.6.1, Hearst Castle Night Tours.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 1’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 16. To read about what happened in Tuesday’s other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Back at the table with the State today, our Unit 1 Bargaining Team continued to present contract proposals that reinforce our demand to be Respected, Protected, and Paid.

Overall, the State has been slow to respond to proposals our Unit 1 team has been presenting over the last three weeks. One response was received today, on language we proposed that would enable EPRs working at EDD the ability to manage their workload, do their job better, and improve the quality of the service EDD provides.

The State pushed back on Article 13.15.1 – EDD Determinations Scheduling Standard—with a counter offer, and worse, without clear justification for their pushback.

“The State continues to disrespect our EPRs demand for a change in working conditions by saying ‘no’ while failing to make any effort to bring an idea of any kind,” said Joyce Wheeler Owens, a long-standing member of the bargaining team who works at EDD/San Diego.

Bargaining Chair Susan Rodriguez, added “This critical issue has been on the table for more than a decade, and the State, once again, fails to understand how their ignorance of the issue and their failure to act impacts us.”

Today, we presented two new proposals with origins in a hard-fought, two-year reclassification campaign for members working in six different Actuary classifications. You can read more about the reclass campaign here.

One new proposal calls for a five percent pay differential for a range of professional credentials and certifications held and maintained by an Actuary, along with the costs of education, testing, and certification.

Another new proposal calls for the establishment of an Incentive Award Program for employees in the various Actuary Classifications.

“Our goal has been for the employer to reward our professional expertise and the quality of the work we do,” said Stuart Bennett, an Actuary at CalPERS who also worked on the reclass campaign. “These articles are an extension of the reclass agreement that recognizes our skills and places additional value on the goal of recruitment and retention.”

In today’s session, the Unit 1 team also proposed the rollover of eight different articles from our current contract which would preserve hard-won economic rights won in previous contract campaigns:

Article 11 – Salaries

• 11.29.1 Investment Officer III and II, Incentive Award Program (Unit 1)
• 11.30.1 Professional Certification Pay (Unit 1)
• 11.31.1 Chartered Financial Analyst Pay Differential (Unit 1)
• 11.32.1 Research Data Specialist III Pay Differential (Unit 1)
• 11.33.1 Hearing Reporters – California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) (Unit 1)

Article 12 – Allowances and Reimbursements

• 12.16.1 Aviation Safety Officer (Unit 1)
• 12.17.1 PERS Auditor Affiliation (Unit 1)
• 12.18.1 Professional License Fees (Unit 1)

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 1’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 9. To read about what happened in Tuesday’s other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Our Unit 1 Bargaining Team returned to the table with the State on Tuesday, April 25. It’s our largest bargaining unit, representing a diverse group of professionals, and today’s session focused on parts of our contract that affect the represented employees at EDD.

“The working conditions at EDD have been a Local 1000 focus for some time,” says Unit 1 Chair Susan Rodriguez. “We’ve had an ongoing discussion with the department at every bargaining cycle and numerous times in between.”

“Workloads at EDD are an issue we worked to correct today,” Rodriguez added. “We proposed language that would allow EPRs the ability to do their job better and to improve the quality of the service they provide.”

The new language in Article 13.15.1 – EDD Determinations Scheduling Standard – increases the time allotted for determination interviews.

Unit 1 made additional progress today, reaching tentative agreement on a number of articles that were either “rolled over” (leaving existing hard-won rights unchanged) or “cleaned up” (making changes to improve the accuracy or clarity of the existing language without modifying the article’s intent or impact).

Two of the articles agreed upon today preserved Joint Labor Management Committees, which are powerful tools Unit 1 uses to continue the effort to improve working conditions between contract cycles.

• 5.15.1 – Joint Labor Management Committee
• 8.23.1 – Employment Development Department (EDD) Vacation Leave Policy
• 21.8.1 – EDD America’s Job Center of California
• 5.14.1 – Guide, Historical Monument Joint Labor Management Committee
• 12.19.1 – Actuary Dues-Department of Insurance

One additional article is still pending, 20.1.1, which governs EDD’s Post and Bid Agreement.

You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org

Unit 1’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 2. To read about what happened in Tuesday’s other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.

Bargaining Unit 1 Recap: Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Bargaining Unit 1—representing a diverse group of classifications in Professional Administrative, Financial, and Staff Services—went to the bargaining table with State negotiators on April 19 and hit the ground running with five tentative agreements on their first day of negotiation.

“Our Unit 1 team has worked diligently since the last contract negotiations in 2019 to prepare for this,” said Susan Rodriguez, Unit 1 Bargaining Chair. “A number of taskforces, joint labor-management committees (JLMCs), and workgroups were established during that time to open up the dialogue surrounding key issues for Unit 1. We will present contract proposals that address the joint recommendation of those groups.”

“With such a diverse bargaining unit, representing many different skill sets, we’ve found the workgroups, taskforces, and JLMCs to be powerful tools to continue negotiating for better working conditions,” Susan said. “In fact, two of our agreements today keep those groups in place.”

Unit 1 presented five contract articles to the state for “rollover,” signaling our desire that the existing language remains unchanged, keeping in place the hard-won rights from previous contract campaigns. The State agreed, and thus, a “tentative agreement” was reached on these five articles:

• 11.28.1 –         California State Lottery (CSL) Business Building Incentive (BBI) Program
• 5.13.1 -            Correctional Case Records Analyst Workload Committee
• 5.16.1 -            Disability Determination Services Division (DDSD) Joint Labor Management Committee 
• 21.7.1 -            Organizational Development
• 21.9.1 -            Business Cards

Of particular note: in reaching an agreement on 5.13.1, the State recognized the importance of the need for continued effort in solving workload and other issues in the Correctional Case Records Analyst classification.

Unit 1’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for April 25. To read about what happened in Tuesday’s other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at 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.