Unit 1: Professional Administrative, Financial and Staff services

On Thursday, August 25, 2022, our Union met with The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to meet and confer on FTB’s notice of the updated Telework Policy, the most recent update to the Return to Office Plan and update to the COVID Prevention Policy. This meeting is one of many meet and confers we’ve had starting in 2021 - particularly on the Return to Office Plan and Telework.

On June 1, 2022, our Union team met with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) again to continue our conversations about the required separation of duties for Driver Safety Hearing Officers related to a recent court order. This was our third meeting on this topic. The information that we received from the Department in this meeting was largely the same as we had learned in our prior meetings.

opportunity to learn more about the Departments’ expectations of employees in terms of establishing their home work space and have a conversation regarding the Department’s requirement that employees who use sick or vacation leave on an office assigned day must alter their telework schedule and later “make up” the office workday.

On Friday, April 15, 2022, our Union met with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) regarding the new Telework policy. CDPH stated they support telework department-wide and see telework as a retention and morale booster for CDPH. We had a productive meeting where we learned CDPH is working to address properly resourcing teleworking equipment and functions to ensure the best teleworking environment.

We learned the following: 

The SEIU Local 1000 Team met with the Employment Development Department (EDD) on Monday, March 14, 2022, to discuss the hiring process that current limited term (LT) employees working as Employment Program Representatives (EPR) can go through to apply to be hired on as a permanent intermittent (PI) EPR. We wanted to ensure we have a strong sense of how the process will look and how many positions will be available for application.

On Monday, December 20, 2021, SEIU Local 1000 met with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) regarding the discontinuation of the formal flex policy. We confirmed that DMV offers and supports four informal options (depending on operational need and coverage availability):

As part of an ongoing process of enhancing the work of their Contact Centers, EDD will be implementing the second phase – call monitoring – beginning August 31st for employees working on their VCC system in their Tax, Disability Insurance, and Unemployment Insurance branches.

Our Union team met with EDD on this issue on August 19, 2021, to lift up concerns about how this implementation may impact our employees performing these duties and to get some additional information about how this monitoring process will work.

On Tuesday, August 17, 2021, our Union met with the California State Teachers’ Retirement Fund (CalSTRS) to meet and confer over a notice that CalSTRS will be implementing screen capture and recording for Contact Center After Call Work (ACW). We were able to have an open conversation with management about the purpose and intention of these changes. CalSTRS expressed that this change is moving to be in line with Contact Center Industry Standards.

Key takeaways:

Every DSH facility is entitled to have a Health and Safety Committee, according to our MOU (contract), Section 10.2. Because of this, members of our Union are working hard to ensure Health and Safety Committees exist and are successful at each facility.

On March 29, 2021, our Union met with the State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) management team. The JLMC resumed meeting to discuss the recent member-only work-life balance survey many of you participated in.

The survey results were generally positive, but members did respond with concerns about feeling overwhelmed at times and the challenges of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Some of the major details from the JLMC discussion include:

On May 3, 2021, our Union met with the Employment Development Department (EDD) to meet and confer over the implementation of Phase 1 of the contact center training and quality management tools.

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, our Union met with the California Health Benefit Exchange, also known as Covered California (HBEX), to meet and confer over the soon-to-be implemented “Workday,” a Human Capital Management System (HCM) intended to modernize human resources (HR) functions. This system will replace the department’s current paper-driven business processes with automation solutions and system functionality.

On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, our Union met with the California Health Benefit Exchange, also known as Covered California (HBEX), to meet and confer over the soon-to-be implemented “Workday,” a Human Capital Management System (HCM) intended to modernize human resources (HR) functions. This system will replace the department’s current paper-driven business processes with automation solutions and system functionality.

On February 4, 2021, our Union met with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) to meet and confer over the implementation of the institutional entrance screening policy at each institution throughout the state.

On Thursday, February 11, 2021, our DMV HEAT team held a Meet and Confer with management over the notice to re-open the Driver Safety Branch to the public as of February 16, 2021. DMV members strategized for this meeting based on conversations with many members from the Driver Safety branches across the state. Throughout this meeting, member leaders held management to task to ensure the health and safety of all SEIU Local 1000 members, as we continue to navigate the ongoing uncharted territory of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SEIU Local 1000 is aware that the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has identified approximately 158 Management Services Technicians (MSTs) that they consider misallocated and who DIR believes are performing duties more accurately allocated to the Office Technician classification. SEIU Local 1000 is working diligently to research and explore all available options to put together the best possible course of action.

On August 12, 2020, our Union met with the State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) to continue discussing the planned update of the Performance Appraisal process within the department. State Fund plans to remove the three tier rating system of inconsistent, successful, and exceptional from annual performance appraisals and instead rely on a process where management regularly communicates performance expectations and concerns to employees throughout the year.

Some of the major details from the negotiations include:

On September 15, 2020, our Union met with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to discuss the Field Office Temperature Screening Expansion implementation within DMV field offices throughout the state.

As part of the effort by the DMV to actively manage the spread and containment of COVID-19 in accordance with CDC and CDPH guidance, the Field Operations Division (FOD) will implement employee and customer focused screening protocols which will include a health questionnaire and temperature screening.

For the first time in 42 years, we were able to increase the Bilingual Pay Differential to $200/month. This comes after 20 years of fighting for an increase including a joint task force and hundreds of members telling their story. We have been fighting for the implementation of

Introduction to Application

Recruitment and Retention (R&R) (Article 5.17.1) is a victorious win for SEIU Local 1000 members. The purpose of this R&R is to provide a platform for the state and the Union to jointly come to a consensus on recruitment and retention issues that are impacting the classification and jointly bring them to the attention of the Director of CalHR and the Administration.

Meeting in a special joint “side table” with the state, Units 1 and 4 fought for and won a major advance for Lottery employees on Wednesday, August 21. The advance stands to update and improve the bonus structure for its field sales representatives in Unit 1 and the lottery ticket sales specialist series in Unit 4.

These are the workers on the front lines who drive Lottery revenues that contribute more than $1 billion annually to the state’s public schools and help create a California for All.

Local 1000’s Unit 1 bargaining team returned to the table on Monday, August 5, 2019 and continued to make progress by signing 9 Tentative Agreements (TA). Five of the TA’s were “roll-over” provisions from the current contract, while the other four were technical or clean up language change proposals that were agreed upon.

On Thursday July 25, 2019, Unit 1 went back to the table with state negotiators to advance more proposals that prioritize fair compensation and economic justice for all Unit 1 members.

Today our Unit 1 team presented a proposal that would:

• Increase and expand our out-of- state differential for Unit 1 employees so that workers who are headquartered out of state and/or have to travel more than 50 percent of the time for their job will be fairly compensated.

The team also proposed the following differentials:

Yesterday our Unit 1 bargaining team went to the table with their state counterparts to continue their push for more equitable compensation for the work that they do. The team submitted a comprehensive list of their Special Salary Adjustments (SSA) for Unit 1 state workers, whose value to our communities is still unequal to their pay.

Unit 1 also submitted a number of other workplace safety and education justice proposals to ensure that Unit 1 workers are protected on the job and have more opportunities to enhance their skills.

No Saturday Service in Field Offices on Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Weekends

On August 29, 2018, Local 1000 and DMV continued negotiations regarding the department’s intent to open field offices on the Saturday before Veterans Day (November 10) and the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 24).  After long discussions around our negotiation team’s proposals, DMV has rescinded the requirement that the field offices be open on either day. This victory allows our DMV members to enjoy their upcoming holiday weekends.

On August 7th, 2018, our union met with the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Department of Juvenile Justice (CDCR DJJ) to discuss the implementation of the Cellsense Contraband Detector program within the DJJ Facilities in the state.

On June 6, 2018, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Heat Team met with management to continue to negotiate the impact of the implementation of Real ID.  Discussions were productive and positive as the team brought up a variety of concerns about workload, staffing levels, improving the Real ID process and providing Californians a better experience at the DMV field offices.

Specific issues that the DMV Heat Team raised were:

Bargaining unit representatives Susan Rodriguez (Unit 1, Alternate Vice Chair) and Sophia Perkins (Unit 4, Chair) met with State Fund and CalHR to negotiate impacts to existing performance standards and the creation of new performance standards for Workers Compensation Claims Adjusters (WCCA), Workers Compensation Insurance Technician (WCIT) and Program Technicians (PT) being implemented by State Fund.

Nearly 600 Local 1000 members working at CalPERS now have the opportunity for more career mobility after our union negotiated to protect and preserve the rights of Retirement Program Specialists (RPS) who are offered the chance to move laterally into new classifications.

Our bargaining team met with the state for the first time in three months and ended the week frustrated by a continued lack of movement by the state on key issues. 

Earlier in the week, our team presented eye-opening information illustrating the gender pay gap in state civil service. Our union is 66% women and 34% men. The seven unions the state has reached agreement with, overwhelmingly comprised of men, are paid a staggering 43% more than Local 1000 members.

Over the last few months the Unit 1 Bargaining team members and members in over 34 classifications prepared expert testimony to present to the California Human Resources (CalHR) department.  Listed below are the members who are doing excellent work in representing your classification group during this process. The last classification group presented their testimony and proposal to CalHR on February 4th.

Local 1000 has launched its 2016 contract campaign with these words from President Yvonne R. Walker: “Our contract will be about the strength and the power of our members to win something amazing.” 

Speaking to members statewide on a conference call for Local 1000 stewards and hundreds more who heard the call at listening parties, Walker looked forward to the upcoming negotiations feeling confident about the preparation that’s gone before.

Two representation wins for members who were initially denied sick leave prove, once again, that the collective strength of Local 1000 can make all the difference for members facing the indifferent bureaucracy of state government during a time of personal need. 

In accordance with Article 13.7.4 of our contract, State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) notified the Union of their intent to implement performance standards for some Program Technicians and Worker’s Compensation Insurance Technicians working in the Claims Processing Centers. Per the contract, State Fund requested a meet and confer over the issue.

On August 24th and 25th a team representing 3 classifications met in Sacramento to negotiate with the state regarding the Recruitment and Retention issues they were currently experiencing.

The teams consisted of the following members:

Environmental Planners:

1. Claudia Gambaro, Military Department, Sacramento
2. Edvard Isaacs, Department of Transportation, Los Angeles
3. Lindsay Vivian, Department of Transportation, Oakland

Right of Way Agents:

Seventy Local 1000 members at the Employment Development Department (EDD) stepped up to soften the blow for some of their coworkers who faced reduced hours. As a result, what would have been a major reduction in work and pay for a few people was distributed among a larger group for a much less significant negative impact.

Local 1000 has launched a comprehensive survey that will advance the effort to review job specifications that have not been updated in decades.

We have made it a high priority to resolve the problems with IT classifications, training, compensation and outsourcing. The state has committed to working with the union by modernizing the IT classification system. Both parties recognize a mutual interest in adapting to the changes in a field with a highly competitive labor market. 

Recruitment and retention is moving forward in Bargaining Unit 1.  Local 1000 has set a May 5 meeting with CalHR to discuss ground rules and the order in which to discuss information about the various classification and classification groupings. 

The Bargaining Unit Negotiation Committee members have been assigned to the classifications/groups and are working on organizing those groups and building support in the field for the groups to which they have been assigned.

The BUNC members who have been assigned to each group are as follows:

In a huge win, Local 1000’s DMV “HEAT Team” signed up 1000 new members.

“Our DMV HEAT Team is doing some amazing work,” said Local 1000 President Yvonne R. Walker.

“Our DMV member leaders are setting an example—and raising the standard—for everyone in Local 1000. It really shows the power of effective workplace organizing.”

Building power in the community, facing challenges and developing union leaders were key themes of last week’s meeting of the Statewide Bargaining Advisory Council (SBAC) in Southern California.

Nearly 200 elected bargaining representatives from up and down California—including the 60-plus members who negotiate our contract with the state—meet three times each year to develop strategies for bargaining and to understand and respond to issues that affect our lives at work and at home.

Local 1000 is aggressively pushing a grievance over the ratio of Permanent Intermittent (PI) employees at the Employment Development Department (EDD) to arbitration after the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) recently rejected our claim. 
Our contract has long-standing language limiting the number of PI employees to no more than 20 percent of the number of staff positions in each of the EDD departments. 

The Bargaining Unit 1 Recruitment and Retention (R&R) Team has completed reviewing the applications and have selected the classifications that will be presented to the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) for assessment.  The R&R team would like to thank the 500 members that took the time to complete these applications and represent their classifications issues. 

The following are the ten classification/classification series that have been selected to be presented to CalHR for review:

After months of collaboration with state officials to address issues facing EDD, Local 1000 hosted new Director Patrick Henning Jr. in a meeting with Local 1000 stewards, to hear first-hand the comments and concerns of rank-and-file workers now in his charge. He came to underscore his commitment to “helping Californians when they are at possibly the lowest point in their lives.”

Local 1000’s bargaining team signed the first tentative agreement of our new contract at the master table today, one that provides a huge advance in our fight against outsourcing.

After a seven-year campaign, aviation consultants win a much deserved pay raise.
Aviation consultants, a small group of Unit 1 members in Caltrans whose job is crucial to public safety, will receive a 7.5 percent pay increase under terms negotiated by Local 1000; this pay raise is retroactive to July 2, 2013.
“This has been a long time coming – we’ve been pressing Caltrans for this raise for seven years,” said Bargaining Unit 1 Chair Brenda Modkins. “We owe this win to the aviation consultants who fought so hard to make this possible.”

Our Unit 1 team – representing Professional Administrative, Financial and Staff Services – spent 18 hours negotiating with the state Friday and Sunday, and signed tentative agreements addressing several of the priorities of Unit 1 members.
 

The Unit 1 bargaining team – representing Professional Administrative, Financial and Staff Services – was at the table today.

Volunteers made the difference 
Members & staff defeated billionaire blitz 

Local 1000’s success at the polls on Nov. 6 came down to one thing: Volunteers. 
“Without our member and staff volunteers we would not have succeeded in so many races,” said Local 1000 President Yvonne R. Walker. “We were up against billionaires, corporate special interests and anonymous contributors who wanted to buy this election. We won because we have something they will never have: an army of committed volunteers.”

Hundreds of bargaining unit member leaders recently met on October 6-7 in San Diego to discuss critical campaigns for Local 1000. Representatives came from all areas of California to discuss the importance of the November election and make over 3,400 calls to urge a NO vote on Proposition 32.  
 
We heard from speakers from our coalition partners such as the League of Women Voters and the Center on Policy Initiatives regarding the importance of partnering to defeat anti worker propositions and campaigns.  
 

The DMV reclassification team is on schedule to finish their work in Spring 2013.
Next steps of the reclassification effort were discussed during a meeting held with the Local 1000 reclassification team, DMV management and the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) on August 17. Currently, CalHR is reviewing the Unit 1 and Unit 4 job classification changes as proposed by the Local 1000 DMV reclassification team and DMV. 

Unjust termination withdrawn after pressure from expert staff and member leaders

After intense legal negotiations and numerous solidarity actions, Linda Martinez went back to work nine months after being unjustly terminated by the Department of Social Services (DSS). “The amount of persistence and expertise used to handle my case was impressive. I cannot thank Local 1000 enough for the work they performed on my behalf,” said Martinez. 

Report on wasteful contracts

How you can help to reduce job outsourcing

The new Outsourcing Task Force –created by the June side letter–is beginning to focus on wasteful private vendor contracts that can be eliminated, so that the cost savings can save taxpayer money and help preserve member pay and state jobs. Working with members on the Outsourcing Task Force Local 1000’s Contract, Research and Legal departments are reviewing and challenging those contracts that needlessly cost the state money.

Are student assistants or non-mission critical annuitants still performing the work of Local 1000 members in your office?

“State workers are not just a part of California’s infrastructure … we are your neighbors.” –Barbara Alves, Bargaining Unit 1 member leader

For months, Local 1000 has told State Fund that they were cutting “too deep,” with too many layoffs, and they finally listened.  State Fund cancelled 267 layoffs that were scheduled for the end of May 2012, which included many Unit 1 and Unit 4 positions.  

SCIF’s “holiday present” to its employees:
SCIF Office Closures, Program Consolidations and Transfers

The State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) has announced a two-year reorganization plan which, if implemented as currently proposed, could result in about  2400 Local 1000-represented employees having to choose between a  transfer to worksites more than 50 miles from their current place of employment or “voluntary layoff.”

Intense lobbying by Local 1000 members forced the state to extend its layoff date for employees working within the 11 building complexes considered for sale under a budget scheme by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. 
The state extended its effective layoff date by sixty days from March 30 to May 1, 2011, to allow Gov. Jerry Brown more time to review the proposal. The extension allows us additional time to assist members in finding other job opportunities if the sale goes through. Preventing the sale will protect hundreds of members from layoff.

Local 1000 will continue bargaining with the state to mitigate the effects of layoffs. However, the state hiring freeze makes it difficult for affected employees to transfer to vacant positions in other departments.
Heman G. Stark Adult Correctional Facility, Chino

An initial meet and confer was held with CDCR in late May on the effects of recent changes in the penal code on the workload of correctional case records analysts (CCRAs). Although no concrete agreements were reached, the meeting was helpful in developing a framework for future discussions. Representing Local 1000 were CCRAs Karen Devoll of Jamestown and Rhonda Roduner of Chowchilla. 
Future meetings are being planned to focus on workload issues concerning non-revocable parole (NRP) criteria and SOMS (a data management system for inmate central files).  

Unit 1 continues to monitor the status of 180 Unit 3 employees who transferred last March to Unit 1 positions in lieu of layoff. It’s been a difficult transition for many. William Hall, one of about a dozen Unit 1 Statewide Bargaining Advisory Committee (SBAC) members who volunteered to call Unit 3 transfers, says: “They are mourning the loss of their prior teaching positions. The transition to analytical work, and the management style that goes with it, can be a challenge.”

A way to build support for public services is to make sure our voice is being heard in the local media.  Here are some excerpts from letters written by Unit 1 members.   Keep writing those letters!

Politicians keep spreading myths about state pay and benefits
Peter Brand, Conservancy Project Development Specialist, CCON, Sacramento Bee, July 6, 2010
 

Local 1000 has met twice with the state, and more meetings are planned, over the effects of the creation of this new department on our membership.
Senate Bill 63 (2009) merged the functions of the now-defunct Integrated Waste Management Board and the Division of Recycling of the Department of Conservation into the new Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, effective January 1, 2010. The legislation stated that no non-exempt civil service employee was to lose rights or employee status in the merger.

We’ve made headway in the on-going fight against out-of-control workloads. The state has agreed to and is currently hiring 110 new Disability Insurance Program Representatives (DIPRs) in the Disability Insurance Branch. EDD has agreed to convert 24 intermittent Employment Program Representatives (EPRs) to permanent full time positions. In addition, Job Services recently hired 295 veterans as EPRs as limited term to work in their “Welcome Home Program.” 

The dust has finally settled on CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) cuts in its educational and juvenile justice programs. A key issue now is making sure that employees who transferred to other positions in lieu of layoff receive the training they need to pass probation in their new classifications. In addition, employees who transferred to CCRA (Correctional Case Records Analyst) positions have the additional hurdle of passing a background check.

Workshops help furloughed state employees keep homes

PROFILE: Claudia Gambaro

Claudia Gambaro often looks for ways to help fellowstate workers but she never predicted she would become Local 1000’s expert in helping them avoid foreclosure.

But when the housing crisis hit Gambaro and tens of thousands of state employees, she wanted to help herself and others keep their homes.

AB 1897, introduced by Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) and sponsored by Local 1000, would repeal the authority of the Director of Finance to sell assets of the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF).

Earlier this year, Governor Schwarzenegger suggested selling $1 billion worth of the “book of business” to private investors.
This bill would require the Governor’s nine appointees to the State Compensation Insurance Fund board of directors be subject to confirmation by the Senate. 

Transparency & elimination of loopholes
Local 1000 is sponsoring two bills that will enhance monitoring the state’s 13,600 personal services and consultant contracts. By our estimates, the state could save approximately $350 million annually by utilizing state workers to cut unnecessary and wasteful outsourcing in IT, medical services and architectural and engineering contracts.

Local 1000 met with the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) and the Department of Justice regarding the inclusion of the Legal Secretary and Legal Analyst classes into the three-rank pilot project. Local 1000 representatives had many questions. It appears some departments were simply included in the project to meet a required minimum of fifty percent. The meeting was concluded with a lot of unanswered questions by DPA and with Local 1000 anticipating full responses.

Local 1000 met with PERS management regarding revisions to the current gift policy. The new policy would prohibit gifts of any value to PERS staff that are in “designated positions” under the Political Reform Act. 
The Fair Political Practices Commission currently allows gifts of $10 or less to not be reported. The new policy has been implemented for non-represented staff, but is on-hold for Local 1000 bargaining units.