Unit 15

State rejects Unit 15 pay proposals

Updated 2:15 p.m., July 15

State negotiators rejected every Unit 15 economic proposal on Monday, including proposals for safety retirement, salary inequities and uniform allowance. The state even rejected permanent language – already approved by the CDCR in a 2004 memo – allowing Unit 15 cooks to wear American flag patches on their uniforms.

“The state’s team is not doing their job,” Unit 15 Chair Robyn Sherles said. “They are not willing to negotiate any new language. We put across proposals that would address our members’ concerns and the state has only proposed rollover language and given us proposals that are already being dealt with at the Master Table.”

Among the proposals rejected by the state: language to increase pay differential for members who work on fire missions, night shifts, split shifts and weekend shifts. The state also rejected a proposal to increase Unit 15 uniform reimbursement from $450 to $650 annually.

Two tentative agreements were signed covering automation and technology and time off for bargaining unit members. Both sides are scheduled to meet again on July 30.

Unit 15 approves 11 tentative agreements

Updated 11:15 a.m., June 23

Our Unit 15 bargaining team met with state negotiators for seven and half hours on Sunday, signing 11 tentative agreements and sharing a total 22 proposals. The tentative agreements were mainly language carried over from the 2006 contract with only minor changes. Both sides are scheduled to continue meeting on Tuesday morning.

Unit 15 Chair Robyn Sherles said Monday some of the state proposals were “totally unacceptable,” including language that would modify Article 5.11 – the “dignity clause” – to make it more difficult for workers to take their complaints to arbitration.

“The language the state is proposing is insulting to our members,” Sherles said.

Bargaining Unit 15 signs nine Tentative Agreements with state negotiators

Updated 10:00 a.m., June 20

After a full day of negotiations, Bargaining Unit 15 members were back at the table for a late evening session with the state. Nine tentative agreements were signed, all continuation of guarantees from the 2006 contract.

Those signed articles include State Required Training, and Tools, Business Equipment, Materials and Supplies.

“It seems the state is using the same old ancient tactic of playing divide and conquer by passing master table articles at the unit table,” said Robyn Sherles, chair of Bargaining Unit 15. “We’re not playing into their tactics.”

Unit 15 returns to the table on Saturday, June 21.

Unit 15 & state sign two tentative agreements

Updated 7:00 p.m., June 13

Unit 15 negotiators met with their state counterparts for seven hours on Friday and signed two tentative agreements, including one that continues guarantees for voluntary personal leave carried over from the 2006 contract. Unit 15 Chair Robyn Sherles said our bargaining team passed 41 proposals to the state and spoke at length about upward mobility opportunities for cooks and janitors.

Sherles said the state raised several issues that should be negotiated at the master table.

“We told them we’re here to focus on Unit 15 members, common language goes to the master table,” Sherles said.

Both sides are scheduled to meet again on Thursday.

Unit 15 Tentative Agreements

Your contract contains numerous articles that are specific to the needs of Bargaining Unit 15 employees. During negotiations, our bargaining team reviews and approves each of those articles and reaches Tentative Agreement with the state as we work towards a fully approved contact.

Click on the links below to read and review Unit 15-specific articles that have been tentatively approved.

2.4.15 Distribution of Union Information	13.19.15 State-Required Training
8.15 Voluntary Personal Leave Program	13.21.15 Orientation & Safety Training Excluding CDCR
8.25.15 DMH Vacation Scheduling in Bargaining	13.22.15 CDCR (Adult Programs) Training
10.7.15 Protective Clothing	13.23.15 CDCR Training (Juvenile Justice)
10.9.15 Safety Equipment and Safety Gogg	14.5 Automation and New Technology
10.18.15 Referral of Assault.Battery	14.7 Assignment of Duties Normally Performed by...
10.19.15 Assaultive Behavior	15.2.15 Joint Labor/Management Appeal of Involuntary...
10.20 Professional Assaultive Response Training	15.4.15 Employee Opportunity Transfer
10.33 Laundry & Kitchen Temperatures	19.3 Rest Periods
11.15 State Special Schools - 10 Month...	19.8 Flexible Work Hours
11.17 Recruitment & Retention Differentials	19.23.15 Sliding Six, Six/Two (6/2) Schedules...
11.22.15 Institutional Worker Supervision Pay...	20.5.15 Work Assignment or Shift Changes
12.13 Tools, Business Equipment, Material	Side Letter 5.15 Custodian Classification Study
12.14 Professional Dues	Side Letter 7.15 Grievances Related to Old Section...
13.18.15 Employee Group Meetings

Processing the tentative agreements is time consuming. We are posting the information to the website throughout the day as quickly as possible.

Bargaining Unit 15 Election Results

Click here to view the Bargaining unit 15 election results

Bargaining Unit 15 is made up of Allied Service Workers
Includes civil service custodians who clean various state buildings, laundry workers, supervising cooks, and food services workers in the prisons and other state institutions.