We’re Building Power for Our Next Contract Negotiations

Our power to make change comes when members choose to engage at our worksites, with the state, in the legislature and in our communities. Already members are working to prepare to bargain our next contract.

Our current contract—the largest in state history—was won through the actions of thousands of union members standing up and fighting for what was important. Together, we won an 11.5% pay increase. More than 50 classifications received special salary adjustments, and we secured more professional development opportunities, improved working conditions and better scheduling of our work and leaves.

We’re building power to negotiate advances in three areas: safe working conditions, value for our work and sustainable careers. Members are making politics matter by lobbying legislators at the Capitol for commitments of support; building community partnerships; and bargaining via task forces to engage the state on key issues in advance of contract negotiations. We’re also collecting stories from members on how these issues affect their lives at work and at home.

Safe Working Conditions

Our members need safe environments to provide quality services to our communities—free from bullying and harassment, safe from workplace hazards and unhealthy indoor climates. We fight for the right tools to do our job. In one example, our members are working to protect patients, nurses and the public by reducing/eliminating the dangerous practice of mandatory overtime as a staffing tool.

Value for Our Work

Value for our work means our members can work for the state and have affordable housing, health care, transportation and child care—with the ability to live in and contribute to the communities we live in. Our GeoPay Task Force is already working to address a wide variety of economic issues that deeply affect our members, while another member-led group is working to see that our members have the expertise necessary to remove any barriers to state services for those Californians that need translation.

Sustainable Careers

When our members have the opportunity to grow and flourish in their state service careers, their work lives improve, as does the quality of the services they provide. That’s why we’re fighting to provide even more of the opportunities that are critical to having a sustainable career in state service.

We’re taking action to get ahead of technology to ensure that our members are not displaced by changes in technology. We believe that when California invests in its workforce, it becomes the employer of choice.

Join us as we build power to win a contract we can all be proud of. Click here to become a member today.