Unit 20: Medical and Social Services Specialists
Unit 20
Medical & Social Services Specialists
The purpose of Bargaining Unit 20 is to represent the LVNs, CNAs, Teaching Assistants, Dental Assistants, Pharmacy Technicians, Laboratory Technologists, Physical Therapists, Counselors, and many other medical and social service classifications working in prisons, veteran’s homes, developmental centers, state hospitals, special schools, and other departments for the State of California so they operate under a fair and legal contract, and are part of a strong member led union.
By educating, organizing and mobilizing members of Bargaining Unit 20 in the workplace, the political arena and within the union itself, we strive to improve the living standard and rights of members, their families and other working people. Through these efforts we will accomplish economic and social justice for ourselves and others.
Representational Win: Safety Improvements for Dental Assistants at Pelican Bay
Ensuring the workplace safety of our represented employees is an SEIU Local 1000 priority. Recently, the hard-earned rights of Bargaining Unit 20 Dental Assistants working at Pelican Bay State Prison were reaffirmed by our Union after winning arbitration.
CCHCS RDA Voluntary Transfer Process
On March 17, 2021, SEIU Local 1000 reached an agreement with CCHCS regarding the voluntary transfer process (VTP) for impacted institutions that have an overage of Dental Assistants.
The agreement reached does not provide any financial help for either relocation expenses or time off work to locate and secure any housing or relocation needs.
BU 20 Reg. Dental Assistants (RDAs)
Update
SEIU Local 1000 received a notice on February 9, 2022, that certain institutions have an overage (surplus) of Bargaining Unit 20 Registered Dental Assistants (RDAs).
BU 20 Board of Nursing Fee Increase
Update
The Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians is proposing an amendment to Title 16, Division 25, Chapters 1 and 2 of the California Code of Regulations that would increase fees overall. The attached announcement of this amendment provides more detail as to the amount and intention of these increases.
BARGAINING UNIT 20 ANNOUNCES CREATION OF THE DENTAL POST AND BID TEAM
BU 20 has created a new CDCR/CCHCS Dental Department Post and Bid Team (BU20PAB) to assist with the upcoming Post and Bid process.
Although the actual process will not begin until April, 2022, now is the time to prepare. RDAs should start requesting that their seniority scores be tallied and are ready to go as that task can take some time.
The BU20PAB Team consists of:
CalVet Vacation Scheduling Policy
Our Union requested to meet and discuss with the Department of Veteran Affairs (CalVet) to establish written home-wide vacation scheduling procedures for Bargaining Unit 17 and Bargaining Unit 20, per the MOU sections 8.23.20 and 8.26.17. Leadership from each Bargaining Unit, along with Job Stewards from a handful of CalVet Homes, met over several months with CalVet management to establish an annual vacation bidding policy to be implemented at all eight Homes.
The vacation scheduling policy sets the parameters for annual vacation bidding by classification.
Supervisor Duties Dumped on HFENs
Health Facilities Evaluator Nurses (HFENs) have been working non-stop to ensure that health facilities follow State and Federal laws to protect the public. This has been an especially hard task given that the pandemic has made health facilities an area of great concern.
2021 SEIU Nurse Alliance National Conference
Tuesday, October 12 through Thursday, October 14, 2021.
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SEIU Local 1000 is sharing the following information on the upcoming 2021 SEIU Nurse Alliance National Conference sponsored by the Nurses Alliance of SEIU California which you may find of interest. |
Department of State Hospitals Health and Safety Committee Survey
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.
Department of State Hospitals (DSH)
Meet & Confer update
On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, SEIU Local 1000 met with the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) to meet and discuss over the status and future of Health and Safety Committees at all five facilities, per Section 10.2 of the MOU. At this meeting, member leaders represented all the DSH facilities, except for Atascadero. Positive steps were taken and will continue in order to ensure success for Health and Safety Committees at each facility to appropriately address concerns collaboratively with management and all staff unions.
Health Facilities Evaluator Nurses
Update from May 17, 2021
Thank you for all your emails and feedback. Please continue sending your questions, comments, and feedback to unit17@seiu1000.org
We read each email and try to respond accordingly in our updates.
On May 14, 2021, we met with John Tong (Labor Relations Specialist, CDPH) and Susan Espinoza (Deputy Director of Human Resources, CDPH) to discuss outstanding Health Facility Evaluator Nurse issues.
Department of State Hospitals (DSH)
Meet & Confer update
On Tuesday, May 4, 2021, SEIU Local 1000 met with the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) to meet and confer over DSH’s application for a permanent exemption to the California Standards for Workplace Violence Prevention in Healthcare, which mandates guidelines for reporting to the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) regarding workplace violence incidences.
CDCR CCHCS Entrance Screening Process
Update
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.
CCHCS Employee Health Teams (EHTs)
On January 29, 2021
Our Union met with California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) to continue discussing the formation and implementation of an Employee Health Team (EHT) at each institution throughout the state.
Some of the major details from the Meet-and-Confer include:
CCHCS was asked to explain the overall, general status of the Employee Health program and any other relevant information, and they responded with the following updates:
Health Facility Evaluator Nurses (HFEN) Update – January 25, 2021
Thank you for all your emails and feedback. Please continue sending your questions, comments, and feedback to unit17@seiu1000.org We read each email and try to respond accordingly in our updates.
1. UPDATE ON UNFAIR PRACTICE CHARGE (UPC)
(CCHCS) Employee Health Team (EHT)
Update from October 13, 2020
On October 13, 2020, our Union met with California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) to continue discussing the formation and implementation of an Employee Health Team (EHT) at each institution throughout the state.
Some of the major details from the meet and confer include:
CCHCS Employee Health Teams (EHT) Update
September 29, 2020
On September 29th, 2020, our Union met with California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) to discuss the formation and implementation of an Employee Health Team (EHT) at each institution throughout the State.
Health Facilities Evaluator Nurses (HFEN)
Update from October 2, 2020
1) Two Additional New Notices
Recently, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) sent
our Union two new notices of changes in working conditions:
Update: Health Facilities Evaluator Nurses
Update from September 18, 2020
On September 18, 2020, our Union met with Management for a check-in over the phone. Christina Montserrat and Susan Espinoza attended for CDPH (California Department of Public Health), and Andres Villarto, Kim Cowart, and Mo Kashmiri attended on behalf of our Union.