On Wednesday, August 21, the Unit 1 bargaining team continued their negotiations with the State by reaching a tentative agreement (TA) on Post and Bid Agreement and the EDD Determination Scheduling Standard at the Employment Development Department (EDD).
Earlier in the bargaining process, Unit 1 negotiators proposed to “roll-over” the current Post and Bid provision at EDD. The state countered with anti-nepotism language that would allow management to deny Post and Bid placements if they were found to be based on favoritism.
The Unit 1 bargaining team was not only able to protect worker notification of Post and Bid denials, they also won additional language that requires EDD management to notify the union if a member is denied placement due to alleged bias.
In addition, the team completed discussions with the State on EDD workload issues and reached a TA, which adds new language that will allow Local 1000 and the state to study the EDD determination scheduling standards.
The study will develop recommendations to adjust scheduling standards and will look at changes to the determination process, the impact of changing internal and external requirements for documentation, processing and overall quality determinations, and the development of pilot programs to improve work processes. The study is to be completed no later than July 1, 2021, and will include recommendations to be implemented within the department.
“The new language in each article is a big win for our Unit 1 members at EDD,” said Irene Green, Unit 1 alternate vice chair. “This will give us an avenue to address the problems in the determination scheduling and allow us to better support members who choose to challenge an unfair nepotism charge.”
Any remaining Unit 1 issues will be brought to the table in the coming weeks. In the interim, members are encouraged to stay engaged as we continue the fight for a new deal.