Agreements on permanent hires and worker safety at EDD offices
8:50 AM - May 3, 2010

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After pressure by Local 1000, the Employment Development Department (EDD) converted 24 permanent intermittent positions to full-time positions last month, bringing the total number of conversions to 630 over the past five years.
Local 1000 has successfully argued that EDD was understaffed even before the economic recession began in 2008 and the unemployment rate spiked above 12 percent, which forced the department to hire more than 1,000 people.

The most recent group of workers converted to full-time status was 24 employees in the Workforce Services Branch on April 20.

“These are longtime EDD employees who are eligible for full-time status, benefits, and career advancement under State Personnel Board rules,” said Margaret Wilson, a member of the Unit 1 bargaining team that negotiated this agreement.

“We hope this win will ensure a well-staffed EDD,” said Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker. “This is just one example of Local 1000’s commitment to stand up for workers.”

This win is the latest effort by Local 1000 to bring the state into compliance to have 20 permanent intermittent employees for every 80 full-time employees in the Workforce Services Branch. Local 1000 has been successful in converting permanent intermittent workers to full-time employees at an average of 10 per week since early 2009.

In a separate issue, Local 1000 and EDD management reached an agreement so that frontline EDD workers who deal with the public will only have first names visible on their employee badges.