SEIU Local 1000 Reaches Historic Tentative Contract Agreement with State

Press release

MEDIA CONTACT:
Brian Nash, bnash@seiu1000.org, 312.968.1068
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SACRAMENTO, CA (August 20, 2023) — After over four months of negotiations, the SEIU Local 1000 bargaining team has reached an overall tentative agreement (TA) with the State of California. If ratified, the contract would significantly raise the wage floor for tens of thousands of state workers and represents the biggest three-year contract in Local 1000 history.

The TA includes the following benefits:

  • 10% General Salary Increase (GSI)
    All SEIU Local 1000 represented employees would receive a GSI of 3% retroactive to July 1, 2023, on top of any other special salary adjustments (SSAs).  An additional GSI of 3% will occur on July 1, 2024. And on July 1, 2025, all Local 1000 employees will receive a 4% GSI as long as the Department of Finance determines they can fund the entire amount. Otherwise, it may be adjusted downward by 1%.
     
  • Fair Wages for Low-Paid Workers
    Wage Equity Adjustments in the TA target over 150 of Local 1000’s lowest earning classifications by providing an additional 4% in immediate SSAs on top of the GSI.  Any classification with a starting wage of $20/hr. or less is eligible. The increase is retroactive to July 1, 2023. These wage increases apply to all incumbents in eligible classifications and increase each step of the salary range—not just the top step. The Wage Equity Adjustments are also pensionable.
     
  • Special Salary Adjustments (SSAs)
    Nearly 170 additional classifications would receive an additional 5% (or more) SSA on top of the GSI, which would also be retroactive to July 1, 2023.  These adjustments target classifications to address recruitment and retention issues, below-market pay rates, and needed corrections to address issues in the state’s salary structure. When combined with our Wage Equity Adjustments, these SSAs represent the largest classification-specific corrections in SEIU Local 1000 bargaining history. The SSAs apply to all incumbents in eligible classifications and increase each step of the salary range—not just the top step. The SSAs are also pensionable.
     
  • Direct Monthly Premium Health Care Stipend of $165
    Each month, all state employees who are the primary enrollees in a CalPERS health care plan shall receive an extra $165 dollars on top of the regular employer premium contribution as determined through the 80/80 health care formula.  This direct payment would not be issued as a separate taxed check. Instead, it would be directly added to the state’s monthly contribution to pay for our workers’ health plan. This maintains the effective monthly net benefit of the original $260 health care stipend ($165 after taxes) and offsets employees’ monthly health care costs directly by providing a supplement to the employer contribution. 

Importantly, this benefit has no expiration date and allows SEIU Local 1000 to pursue our goal of making health care affordable and accessible for our represented workers in all future contracts. The benefit would take effect in December 2023 to help mitigate the new 2024 healthcare rates.  Both the new 80/80 formula contribution and the $165 supplement would be implemented simultaneously.

  • OPEB Reduction
    Local 1000 successfully renegotiated a reduction of 0.5% in our employees’ OPEB (Retiree Health Care Plan) contribution from 3.5% to 3%. This would take effect the first pay period following ratification and help keep retirement benefits affordable and secure. This reduction in OPEB mitigates the 0.5% pension contribution increase that went into effect in July 2023. 
     
  • Health Care Facility Retention Payment
    A Health Care Facility Retention Payment will be paid at three levels to eligible employees who worked onsite or provided in-person services more than 50% of the time during the pandemic. This will include $1450 for employees working at a correctional facility, correctional health facility, state hospital, veteran’s home, and/or developmental services facility; a $1000 payment for CDPH employees in nine classifications; and a $625 payment for state special schools employees.

“This agreement reflects our best efforts to respond to the priorities our members identified in town halls and bargaining surveys,” said Irene Green, Local 1000 Vice President for Bargaining. “It promises to positively impact hundreds of job classifications across the state via the proposed GSI and SSAs and directly addresses the respect, protection, and pay that we’ve been fighting for.”

Additional economic and non-economic wins from the tentative agreement will be released soon.

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About SEIU Local 1000
SEIU Local 1000 is a strong member-led union consisting of over 96,000 State of California employees. The mission of Local 1000 is to give members—and all Californians—the opportunity to have a good life, live in sustainable communities, and enjoy the fruits of social, economic, and environmental justice.