Presidio Board Willing to Move

Friday, May 23, 2008

BAY AREA - Local 792 received word this week that the Presidio Trust Board, for the first time, is willing to move on due process and negotiating wages and benefits. Union Negotiators have been working for a first contract with the Presidio Trust for over seven years. LIUNA Public Employee Director Bob Purcell and Local 792 Business Manager Chris Darker met with Presidio Top Administrators in Sacramento two weeks ago to work out a deal in light of the unions recent move to amend legislation that would ultimately mandate the Presidio Trust to provide the same pay and benefit package as other federal workers. Trust employees currently are at will and have no due process rights. “This is great news for our members at the Trust. We have a choice at this point. We can negotiate a contract that we both could live with or let the legislation dictate where we go next”, said Darker. UPEC Chief negotiator Steve Allen began negotiations in November 2007 shortly after Local 792 merged three bay area bargaining units into the local. In January, the union layed out a political solution to the seven year stalemate and joined forces with the San Francisco Labor Council. In March, Allen and his bargaining team reached the first tentative agreement followed by five additional tentative agreements in negotiations. The next negotiations session is tentatively set for June 10th in San Francisco.