Back at the table with the State today, our Unit 1 Bargaining Team continued to present contract proposals that reinforce our demand to be Respected, Protected, and Paid.
Overall, the State has been slow to respond to proposals our Unit 1 team has been presenting over the last three weeks. One response was received today, on language we proposed that would enable EPRs working at EDD the ability to manage their workload, do their job better, and improve the quality of the service EDD provides.
The State pushed back on Article 13.15.1 – EDD Determinations Scheduling Standard—with a counter offer, and worse, without clear justification for their pushback.
“The State continues to disrespect our EPRs demand for a change in working conditions by saying ‘no’ while failing to make any effort to bring an idea of any kind,” said Joyce Wheeler Owens, a long-standing member of the bargaining team who works at EDD/San Diego.
Bargaining Chair Susan Rodriguez, added “This critical issue has been on the table for more than a decade, and the State, once again, fails to understand how their ignorance of the issue and their failure to act impacts us.”
Today, we presented two new proposals with origins in a hard-fought, two-year reclassification campaign for members working in six different Actuary classifications. You can read more about the reclass campaign here.
One new proposal calls for a five percent pay differential for a range of professional credentials and certifications held and maintained by an Actuary, along with the costs of education, testing, and certification.
Another new proposal calls for the establishment of an Incentive Award Program for employees in the various Actuary Classifications.
“Our goal has been for the employer to reward our professional expertise and the quality of the work we do,” said Stuart Bennett, an Actuary at CalPERS who also worked on the reclass campaign. “These articles are an extension of the reclass agreement that recognizes our skills and places additional value on the goal of recruitment and retention.”
In today’s session, the Unit 1 team also proposed the rollover of eight different articles from our current contract which would preserve hard-won economic rights won in previous contract campaigns:
Article 11 – Salaries
- 11.29.1 Investment Officer III and II, Incentive Award Program (Unit 1)
- 11.30.1 Professional Certification Pay (Unit 1)
- 11.31.1 Chartered Financial Analyst Pay Differential (Unit 1)
- 11.32.1 Research Data Specialist III Pay Differential (Unit 1)
- 11.33.1 Hearing Reporters – California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) (Unit 1)
Article 12 – Allowances and Reimbursements
- 12.16.1 Aviation Safety Officer (Unit 1)
- 12.17.1 PERS Auditor Affiliation (Unit 1)
- 12.18.1 Professional License Fees (Unit 1)
You can read the details of these and all current contract articles at contract.seiu1000.org
Unit 1’s next meeting with the State to win a contract that Respects Us, Protects Us, and Pays Us is set for May 9. To read about what happened in Tuesday’s other bargaining sessions, please visit the Contract Action Center page at seiu1000.org
There’s real truth to the Local 1000 slogan, Stronger Together. We only win a great contract with a strong Local 1000 membership. So, if you’re not already a member, we encourage you to join us today