Contract Enforcement: Protecting our Hard-Earned Rights
Our contract is a hard-won document that protects our wages, benefits, and working conditions, and also includes hundreds of articles that govern how we do our work, schedule our leaves, and interact with our supervisors.
When we stand up and stand together against violations of those rules, we receive the full benefit of the contract we all worked so hard to win.
Custodians’ safety preserved in a time of crisis
During the public protests that happened in Sacramento in early June, custodians working at the Department of General Services (DGS) were directed to ignore the City of Sacramento‘s order of curfew for 8 p.m. that night.
31 members were affected, working shifts that ended at either 11:30 p.m. or 1 a.m. Concerned for the safety of herself and her coworkers while driving home after curfew, one of our members stood up and reached out to her union around 4 p.m.
Our members, working with DGS and our Union Resource Center (URC) learned that the building manager refused to comply with the curfew order and the supervisors managing the custodians were not made aware.
In just 90 minutes, DGS assured our members they would be
released by no later than 6 p.m. and will be granted a
differential of their hours in the form of ATO. All members
expressed gratitude for their Union fighting for their safety and
were satisfied with the results of this matter.
Read more about your contract rights
here.
Out-of-Class Win at California OTS
When one of our members working at the California Office of
Traffic Safety (OTS) was recognized as working out-of-class for
more than a year, the department only agreed to pay 120 days of
back wages. Our team at the Union Resource Center filed for the
remainder and further argued that our member should be promoted
in place. This member had started a T&D assignment for the
out-of-class position in March of this year. In this win, the
member received full back pay and was promoted into the new
position effective March 2020.
Read more about your contract rights
here.
EPSLA leave granted after improper denial at CDCR
Our member at the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) was denied EPSLA (Emergency Paid Sick Leave
Act) benefits despite meeting qualifications. HR denied the
initial request, even though this member was under a doctor’s
order to self-quarantine. The department claimed a negative test
result disqualified the leave. Our URC representative worked with
CDCR, clarified the qualifying event, and won for the member by
getting the leave issued and the lost wages recouped.
Read more about available COVID-19
resources.