2021 Year in Review: Contract Department
2021 was a momentous year for SEIU Local 1000’s Contract Department. With a focus on contract implementation and contract enforcement, the Department has been hard at work defending the hard-won workplace protections and opportunities for the state workers who have kept California afloat in the second year of the pandemic.
Through our statewide Joint Labor Management Committees (JLMCs) and Task Forces, the Contract Department made gains with the State to ensure workers have access to programs to encourage upward mobility, negotiated on mandatory overtime, and established Classification Review Committees to help manage recruitment and retention.
Additionally, the Contract Department committed to managing statewide and multi-region issues at state departments through State Policy Notices, handling over 600 notices in all from CalHR in 2021. Any change in terms or conditions of employment requires a notice per the Dills Act, and Section 24.1(B) requires 30-day notice and an opportunity to meet and confer prior to implementation. Since CalHR notices are applicable to all departments, this ensure all workplaces are up-to-date and fairly represented in all policy changes.
Most notably, the Department is currently meeting with the State to negotiate a statewide telework agreement through our Telework Meet and Confer. Key issues, such as the amount of a telework stipend and the format of the telework (remote-centered, with 50% or more of their time from alternate work location vs. office-centered, with more than 50% at the office) have become important issues for member involvement. The Department’s Telework Survey, opened to all members through the end of 2021, ensures that member voices are front and center in these negotiations. The Contract Department has also been working to ensure that our represented employees who will need to return to performing duties in person have their contract rights protected and have the equipment to perform their duties safely.
Finally, the Contract Department worked closely with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) to implement the closure of the Deuel Vocational Institute (DVI) in Tracy. DVI, which closed as of September 30, 2021, employed a number of SEIU Local 1000 represented workers. Thanks to the work of the Department, no employee was involuntarily separated as a result of the closure, and all impacted employees were placed in another position.