Local 1000 Bargaining Team Holds Tight to our Proposal; Stays Focused on Member Needs
Bargaining has entered its final month, and the State has not provided serious commitments, through counteroffers or responses to proposals, that will have a meaningful impact on the lives of our members.
Our demands for a 30% pay raise, 100% paid health care premiums, and Special Salary Adjustments remain unanswered. Whether a planned tactic or otherwise, the State’s negotiators have spent months reviewing proposals, which are months where our members have struggled to pay bills, to take care of themselves and their families, and to provide the services California depends on.
Our members’ voices will be heard at the table and in the streets. Our rally on June 8 from the Capitol to the Governor’s Mansion brought our frustration and outrage to the doorstep of the people directly responsible for this situation.
“We need to escalate our actions and project our power to spur the State to action,” said Irene Green, Vice President for Bargaining. “Our demands will be heard, our voices will be heard, and we will get the respect, protection, and pay that we deserve.”
The State’s ongoing delays, sluggishness, and apparent lack of concern for the critical needs of so many of their employees will not change the situation. An organized union of workers fighting for their rights will.
“Our rally at the State Capitol is the beginning of our escalation,” said Green. “We are calling for the State to act now and help those who have served California far too long for too little pay.”
As bargaining continues, we expect the State to live up to the ideals it claims to believe in. If California is a progressive state where workers can live decent lives with the dignity and safety they deserve, it starts with the actions of its government.
The example that is being set now is a failure of those principles and disrespects the workers who deserve a response, a raise, and a future in California. The cost of living is rising. Inflation is consuming more and more of state workers’ paychecks. Vacancies and overwork is degrading services across the state.
California must move forward, not backward. We invite the State to take the first step to ensure that our workers are respected by their employers, protected on the job, and paid what they need to live their lives in dignity. Please continue to take steps on your own by purpling up on Wednesday, attending our upcoming rally in Los Angeles on June 22, and becoming a member if you haven’t done so already.
Together we can win this fight. Together WE WILL win this fight.