Unit 20 Bargaining Update for Thursday, July 25, 2019
Unit 20 Proposals Focus on Providing Economic Justice, a Stronger Voice in the Workplace, and Improved Safety

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Our Unit 20 bargaining team returned to the table today with proposals that respond to key issues brought forth by our members at bargaining town halls and through member surveys.

The personal story of one of our special school workers—a 25-year state employee working as a residential counselor on a 10-month schedule—highlighted the struggle of working in a low-wage job in a high cost-of-living area. Forced to live in a camper van for several years, this member story set up our proposal for a recruitment and retention differential for nine different classifications at the special schools.

“We’re using the power of our member’s experiences to drive home deeply-felt economic issues,” said Luisa Leuma, Unit 20 bargaining chair.

Our Unit 20 team presented the following proposals today:

  • Create a new, standardized process for Dental Assistants and Dental Hygienists to schedule their vacation leaves. This proposal, the result of a task force formed out of a 2016 contract win, makes the process more accessible and uniform across 35 state facilities.
  • Give our members a meaningful voice in recommending improvements in working practices by leading Professional Practice Groups at each facility. New language in this proposal extends the same rights to all Unit 20 classifications, including at the special schools.
  • Provide a student transportation differential for special school employees who drive students for more than four hours.
  • Improve the safety of new hires by mandating that new employee orientations occur within the first 30 days instead of the current two to five months.
  • Increase the recruitment and retention differential for nine different classifications—all 10-month employees working in special schools. This differential would be paid for all 12 months of the calendar year.

The Unit 20 team and the state also agreed to “roll over” two contract articles, preserving hard-earned member rights from previous contract campaigns.

Unit 20 returns to the table on Monday, July 29.