Monterey Employees Pass Agency Shop

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Monterey - The General Employees of Monterey (GEM) today passed “Agency Shop” for their bargaining unit. The California State Mediation and Conciliation Service (CSMCS) conducted the on-site secret ballot election on July 29 and 30th ending today at 6:00pm. Mediators from CSMC certified the election as approximately 15 employees looked on. There were 121 YES votes and 97 NO votes for a total of 218 votes out of 272.
LIUNA/UPEC Local 792 representatives assisted GEM with the election. The parties to the election have 10 days to protest the election. Gem Chair Todd Bennett and Vice Chair Phyllis Kimber were on hand for the vote count and are pleased with the results. This was a good representation of the employees reported Local Business Manager Chris Darker. The local reported it was almost 50/50 members to non-members who voted in the election. “"I am proud of the leadership of GEM. Phyllis and Todd did an excellent job ensuring members and non-members alike were well informed of what they were voting for in this election”, stated Darker. 

UPEC files Charges Against Milpitas

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

MILPITAS - UPEC Staff have filed two cases against the City of Milpitas with the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) on behalf of the former President of the Professional and Technical Bargaining Unit (PROTECH) and an additional charge on behalf of the PROTECH bargaining unit. 
In May of 2009 the City of Milpitas approached the Professional and Technical Bargaining Unit (PROTECH) requesting the membership of that unit pay 2.5% of the City (employer) portion of their PERS retirement or face layoffs. The CIty gave the PROTECH Leadership 4 days to respond. The bargaining unit initially declined the proposal. The City did not provide the necessary documentation requested by the bargaining unit to make an educated assessment of the need for the proposal or layoffs. The City moved forward and issued layoff notices resulting in several layoffs including the former President and other officers of the board. 

UPEC and National Park Service Reach $997,625.00 Settlement

Monday, July 27, 2009

San Francisco - The United Public Employees of California Local 792 announced today that it had reached a settlement with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) on the blood borne Pathogen (BBP) Grievance. 
The National Park Service signed an agreement with UPEC/LIUNA. The subject settlement agreement between GGNRA and United Public Employees of California (UPEC)/Laborers International Union of North American (LIUNA) covers 148 current or former employees of the park.  Of the 148, forty-six (46) employees are still employed by Golden Gate, and 102 have transferred to the Presidio Trust, other NPS parks, other agencies, retired, resigned or were separated. The Union and GGNRA concluded the grievance with a final settlement totaling $997,625.00
The Union and GGNRA have agreed to the settlement so as to forestall and avoid the continued burden and expense of litigation, and to resolve their outstanding differences on the issue of the occupational exposure of certain employees to blood-borne pathogens.
The group of affected employees includes all employees employed by GGNRA on or after July 1, 1998 in the following job classifications:  Maintenance Worker, Maintenance Worker Leader, Gardener, Gardener Leader, Maintenance Mechanic, Maintenance Mechanic Leader, Plumber, Pipe-fitter, Laborer, and Custodian, the total number of which is one hundred forty-seven (147).  And that the period covered by the award runs from calendar year 1995 through calendar year 2006.
Dave Ritchie, Federal Employees and Public Sector Representative for UPEC/LIUNA, said “This settlement is an important accomplishment for the employees and GGNRA.  It will allow us to move forward together and is a solid example of what we hope will be a significantly improved relationship between the employees and GGNRA.” “We hope that the resolution of this long-standing dispute will provide a foundation for us to work more collaboratively and proactively with GGNRA on future issues as they arise.”
UPEC/LIUNA Business Manager Chris Darker also praised the agreement, saying:  “It’s truly a great accomplishment of the employees at GGNRA, particularly our stewards led by former GGNRA employee Mike Crahan (retired).  I am very pleased that this agreement marks the end of the dispute and ameliorates our employees’ relationship with GGNRA.”

Local Government to Pay for State Debt

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

July 21 (Bloomberg)—California lawmakers reached an agreement with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger over how to close a $26 billion budget deficit that pushed the most-populous U.S. state to the brink of insolvency.

The deal, reached by legislative leaders after two months of frequently acrimonious negotiations, would slash spending for schools, public works and welfare programs amid the longest recession since the 1930s. If approved by the full Senate and Assembly, the agreement will also siphon money from municipalities, force companies and individuals to pay income taxes sooner and make it more difficult to receive state aid.

“We came to a basic agreement, a budget agreement,” Schwarzenegger told reporters outside his office last evening. “This is a budget that has no tax increases and this is a budget that is cutting spending and it deals with the entire $26 billion deficit.”

The agreement promises to end a battle over the $100 billion budget that forced California to pay some bills with IOUs, pushed debt ratings on $72 billion of bonds closer to non- investment grade and threatened to further batter the state’s economy. It is the second time this year that the government redrew the budget amid job losses that pushed unemployment to 11.5 percent in May and declining incomes that lowered tax collections 15 percent from a year earlier.

Senate and Assembly leaders said they will seek to put the proposals to a vote by July 23. It would require passage of more than a dozen bills by a two-thirds margin. While Democrats control both chambers of the Legislature, they are six votes shy of such a supermajority.

Spending Cuts

The agreement calls for cutting spending by $15 billion, including $6 billion from schools, $3 billion from colleges and $1.2 billion from prisons. Schools will be repaid $11 billion once the state’s economy turns around. It also raises $4 billion by in part accelerating personal and corporate income tax withholdings and increasing income tax withholding schedules by 10 percent.

It also calls for the state to divert more than $2 billion of tax receipts meant for local governments, redevelopment agencies and transportation districts. That money would be repaid with interest. Local governments could sell bonds backed by the promise of repayments. The agreement also shifts $1.5 billion between accounts to save money and moves the last payday for state workers in the current fiscal year into the next. 

Scholarship Page Updates

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Please review our scholarship page to see updated information about next year’s scholarships as well as information and pictures of the 2009 Scholarship Recipients. Remember to check our scholarship page for updates throughout the year.

CalPERS Offices to Close on Furlough Fridays

Thursday, July 09, 2009

SACRAMENTO, CA – Due to state employee furloughs, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) will be closing its offices to the public on the Fridays of July 10, 17, and 24, 2009.  The closures will affect CalPERS headquarters in Sacramento and eight regional offices in California located in Fresno, Glendale, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, and Walnut Creek. CalPERS staff will not be available to provide services to members, employer representatives, or the public on the closure dates.