Unit 1 Bargaining Update for Wednesday, August 7th, 2019
Unit 1 Bargaining Team Continues Progress at Negotiation Table; Tackles Workload Issues
After a long day at the bargaining table on Wednesday, August 7th, 2019, the Unit continued to negotiate with the state over important workload and classification issues for unit members as we work toward a contract that creates a California for All.
Many Unit 1 workers often work long hours and have significant workloads that sometimes are compounded by under-staffing and poor retention and recruitment strategies at state agencies. This can lead to job burn-out and high stress levels that impact productivity, both of which the bargaining team addressed.
The Unit 1 team agreed to the following tentative agreements:
- A “roll-over” provision continuing the Correctional Case Records Analyst Workload Committee that discusses workload, training and mandatory overtime issues.
- New and improved Unit 1 Recruitment and Retention Committee language that removed restrictions on what classifications can be considered.
- A union proposal that secured a classification study for T.V. Specialists to address their current job duties and classification specifications.
- A union proposal that moves Hearing Reporters from Unit 4 to Unit 1.
The Unit 1 bargaining team and the state also discussed Employment Development Department workload issues related to the number of determinations that Employment Program Representatives are expected to complete each day. This will be on the agenda when Unit 1 returns to the bargaining table next week in our fight for a fair contract.
Dolores Heckard-Bonner, a Unit 1 bargaining team member, expressed confidence in the direction of unit negotiations. “We worked on several proposals and reached tentative agreements on issues that our unit members said were important to them. Now we need to step up our momentum and show up at the August 13th Capitol Rally.”