GeoPay Task Force finding solutions to the high cost of living for members

After a year’s work and a dozen meetings with the state, our GeoPay Task Force is preparing an in-depth joint report that puts forth solutions to deeply-felt economic issues facing many of the 96,000 state employees we represent. 

Our task forced examined six different issues that contribute to the high costs of living in California, including housing, transportation, commute, childcare, health care and comparable wages. 

The joint report will be presented later this year to the acting director of CalHR and later shared with elected lawmakers in the state Capitol. This is the next step in our fight for economic justice and an important prelude to upcoming geographic-based compensation discussions when we begin bargaining our new contract next year. 

The Task Force, comprised of six Local 1000 members from across the state, is working this year with a group of state agencies— CalHR, EDD, CDTFA, DGS and the PUC. In the past year, they’ve held monthly meetings as a group, where both parties discussed each of the issues to help create solutions to the high cost of living. 

The GeoPay Task force is just one part of a union-wide effort to build member strength and power for contract bargaining next year. While the Task Force is focused on Local 1000’s effort to get “Value for our Work”, other, similar groups are focused on “Sustainable Careers” (upward mobility and career development) and “Safe Working Conditions” (providing safe environments for all employees). 

Engaged members will make the difference in bargaining. “When we leverage our power in the worksite, we win better wages, safer working conditions and better opportunities to grow in our jobs,” says Karen Franklin, an LVN working in the Bay Area who’s also a member of the GeoPay Task Force and the vice-chair of Bargaining Unit 20. 

Share your story of how the lack of GeoPay affects your quality of life and that of your family. Click here to use our story form.