Unit 21
Educational Consultants & Librarians
Recent Updates from Unit 21:
“Bargaining Unit 21 is proud to have a full bargaining unit negotiating council (BUNC) for the first time in over 10 years, and our collective efforts have built supermajority (67% and up) BU 21 membership rates at more than half (17 out of 32) of the worksites where Bargaining Unit 21 workers work, achieving 100% membership at 11 of them!”
Who We are
The educational consultants and librarians of Unit 21 includes consultants who work with educational programs from pre-kindergarten through post-secondary or higher education, and the state librarians and archivists.
Unit 21 Bargaining Unit Negotiating Committee (BUNC)
GeoPay Task Force Presents and Releases Report
Unit 21 Working Hours and Professional Responsibility
Our contract is the agreement between SEIU Local 1000 and the State that outlines our pay, our benefits, and our rights! Our bargaining team is gearing up to negotiate a new contract and what we win depends on how strong and united we are.
Here are the priorities our Bargaining Unit 21 team is bringing to the table:
Protect Our FLSA Exempt Status
- BU 21 classifications meet federal criteria for professional exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
- We’re demanding explicit contract language affirming BU 21 classifications as FLSA exempt as well as workload protections and compensation integrity.
Competitive Salaries That Reflect Our Professional Expertise
- Our classifications require advanced degrees and high-level expertise, yet compensation does not reflect market value.
- We’re demanding significant General Salary Increases (GSIs), Special Salary Adjustments (SSA), and recruitment & retention incentives.
Telework: Modern, Flexible, and Equitable Work Policies
- We’re demanding default telework for eligible duties, telework equity across departments, and telework support including State-provided equipment and secure technology as well as stipends for internet and home office costs.
19.19.21(a) needs to stay – Sign The Petition
19.19.21(a): Professional Salaried Protections
Bargaining Unit 21 (BU 21) workers are professional salaried employees, as designated in section 19.19.21 of our contract agreement. We are not hourly workers and are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) which grants labor protections for standard work schedules, including overtime pay for 40+ hour work weeks. Additionally, we shall not be charged for any paid leave for absences in less than whole day increments. Because of our fluctuating, non-standard work schedules, we require a different set of labor protections. That’s where 19.19.21(a) comes in: it helps guide supervisors and BU 21 employees on how to apply 19.19.21 and outlines the need for flexibility, ongoing, two-way communication to manage various, fluctuating work requirements, and professional responsibility and judgement.
Without 19.19.21(a), this unequal application of 19.19.21 policy will inevitably worsen working conditions for BU 21 workers.
Those who sign on to this letter demand that 19.19.21(a) needs to stay in the SEIU Local 1000 Master Agreement for our next contract.
Unit 21 Bargaining Updates
Unit 21 Bargaining Update – Thursday, May 28, 2026
Refreshed from a meaningful Memorial Day holiday, Bargaining Unit 21, the unit representing our Educational Consultants, Child Development Consultants, Librarians, Archivists, and Specialists, met with the State on the morning of Wednesday,...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update – Thursday, May 21, 2026
Bargaining Unit 21, the unit representing our Educational Consultants, Child Development Consultants, Librarians, Archivists, and Specialists, met with the State on Monday, May 18, and again on Wednesday, May 20, to...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update – Thursday, May 14, 2026
Bargaining Unit 21, the unit representing our Educational Consultants, Child Development Consultants, Librarians, Archivists, and Specialists, met with the State on Monday, May 11, and again on Wednesday, May 13, to resume...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update – Thursday, May 7, 2026
Bargaining Unit 21, the unit representing our Educational Consultants, Child Development Consultants, Librarians, Archivists, and Specialists, met again with the State on Monday, May 4, and Wednesday, May 6, to resume...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update – Thursday, April 30, 2026
Bargaining Unit 21, the unit representing our Educational Consultants, Librarians, Archivists, and Specialists, met with the State twice this week: on Monday, April 27 and Wednesday, April 29 for unit-specific negotiations....
Sunshine Meeting with CalHR: January 14, 2026
January 14, 2026 Your bargaining team just completed our sunshine meeting with CalHR – our first step on the road to our next contract! In this meeting, we made it clear to CalHR that our goal is to negotiate a fair and equitable contract shaped by...
Unit 21 Working Hours and Professional Responsibility
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law enacted in 1938 to protect the rights of full-time and part-time workers. As a Unit 21 employee, you qualify for exempt status under what is termed the professional exemption, intended for...
Bargaining Unit 21 Virtual Townhall
Starting on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, the Bargaining Unit (BU) 21 District Bargaining Unit Representatives (DBURs) began holding meetings with BU 21 employees regarding the 2026 contract negotiations. You are being invited to the next meeting...
Update on Appendix S – 12.1 Business and Travel Expenses [New]
SEIU Local 1000 met with CalHR on July 22, 2024, and again on September 17, 2024, regarding implementing “New” Appendix S - 12.1 Business and Travel Expenses. As negotiated last year, the Business and Travel Expenses section (12.1) will be updated...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update for Friday, August 9th, 2019
Local 1000’s Unit 21 reached agreement on 10 “roll-over” contract provisions on Friday, August 9, to close out the remainder of their non-economic proposals. In the process, the bargaining team was able to preserve a number of vital provisions in...
Unit 21 Alert: Bargaining Update – May 15
Today, Local 1000 returned to the negotiating table to meet with representatives from the state and continue bargaining for our new contract. The state spent the last two weeks reviewing the proposals we gave them in April - 29 Master Table...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update for Wednesday, August 7th, 2019
Our Unit 21 bargaining team made good progress at the table on Tuesday in their pursuit of protecting and advancing the rights of the Educational Consultants and Librarians they represent. One tentative agreement that was signed empowers Unit 21...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update for Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Unit 21 went to the table on Tuesday to continue their fight for fair wages and better professional opportunities for Educational Consultants and Librarians across California. Our bargaining team brought in representatives from the California...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update for Friday, July 26, 2019
Our Unit 21 educators went to the table Friday with a focus on creating an employee culture that embraces the diversity of the California Department of Education (CDE) workforce. “Our goal is to create a culture and environment that encourages more...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update for Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Our Unit 21 team, representing Educational Consultants and Librarians, went to the table today to continue their fight for fair wages and better professional opportunities. Three Local 1000 members—two from the California Department of Education...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update for Tuesday, July 9, 2019
At bargaining Town Halls earlier this year, workload issues were reiterated again and again from San Diego to Sacramento. And workloads were once again a leading issue as Bargaining Unit 21 went to the table on July 9, 2019, to negotiate a new...
BU 21 uses JLMC to win reclass fight
The crucial safety role of California Department of Education’s (CDE)’s Bus Driver Training Specialists will finally be recognized with new classification specifications and job titles, thanks to a hard-fought, years-long campaign by Bargaining...
The fight to end mandatory overtime continues
On Sept. 30, Governor Jerry Brown issued a veto message for Assembly Bill 2155, a bill that would have prohibited the unsafe practice of mandatory overtime in state facilities. Local 1000 remains committed to fighting the use of mandatory overtime...
Unit 21 specific contract information
A wage increase, a guarantee of no new furloughs and a range of other improvements to our rights and working conditions lead the advances secured in our new 3-year Master Agreement. The agreement was reached between the Local 1000 bargaining team...
Unit 21 Alert: Bargaining Update – May 31
The Unit 21 bargaining team - representing Educational Consultants and Librarians -- closed out bargaining unit negotiations after meeting Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The bargaining team addressed the priorities of our members as expressed in...
Unit 21 Alert: Bargaining Update – May 17
The Unit 21 bargaining team - representing Educational Consultants and Librarians - was at the table for nearly 14 hours today, and signed 17 tentative agreements. Among the most important is the creation of a new Education Leave Pilot Program that...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update – Friday, April 19
The Unit 21 bargaining team returned to the table today - for the second time this week - to focus on issues of importance to the Educational Consultants and Librarians represented by Local 1000. Unit 21 presented five proposals to state...
Unit 21 Bargaining Update – Monday, April 15
Dear Unit 21 employee: This morning our bargaining team met with the state to present proposals, which pertain specifically to our unit. These proposals seek to protect our existing contract language and improve our unit specific interests. Here...