We represent 267 San Mateo County Superior Court workers.
Having a problem at work? Contact your worksite steward first. Please
contact the SEIU 521 office for steward contact information.
Officers
Grant Nguyen North Vice Chair, Courts
Annette Ruiz-Vides, Courts Chief Steward
Stewards are listed in the purple column on the right.
Meetings & Events
- Steward Council Meeting/CAT Meeting: First Tuesday of the month, 5:30 PM - SEIU 521 Office, 981 Industrial Road, Suite A, San Carlos
- Chapter Council: Last Tuesday of the month, 5:30 PM - SEIU 521 Office, 981 Industrial Road, Suite A, San Carlos
- COPE Meetings on the following Thursdays:
September 9, October 14
SEIU 521 Office, 981 Industrial Road, Suite A, San Carlos
- Steward Training: Aug. 19, Sept. 16, Oct. 23, Nov. 18
- Additional
meetings and events listed in the right column, under the tab "EVENTS".
Union News
The Court Reporter: click here for court newsletter and important news for court workers.
CAT Connection - August 2010
In this issue:
- Management must share the cost of cuts. We have nothing left to give.
THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW!
Show your solidarity and support for our Union bargaining team. Become a
member. Wear
purple. Stay
informed. And
be prepared to march on the Board and on management. They haven't heard us – so that means we need to
shout louder!
- Stealing Pennies from Workers
With all of the bad decisions that managers have made that have cost the County OVER $200 MILLION, let's add stealing workers' penny jars to that list!
If a manager has stolen your penny jar, tell your shop steward immediately! Police reports have been filed. Not only is it theft, but it is illegal for managers to interfere with Union members' right to participate in Union activities.
- Like us, Homecare workers fight for fair pay
Managers: a series of bad decisions - August 2010
Ratification Vote Sign-Up - August 2010
Pitbull Press, July 2010
Bargaining Update - June 3, 2010
Bargaining Priorities Ratification Document
Pitbull Press, May 2010
Pitbull Press, May 2010
Pitbull Press, March 2010
Pitbull Press, # 9, Dec. 2009
Pitbull Press, # 8, Dec. 2009
Courts contract details (Nov. 1, 2009-Aug. 7, 2010).
Pitbull Press, Oct. 2009
CAT Connection, Oct. 2009
The Court Reporter, Sept. 2009
CAT Connection, Sept. 2009
Pitbull Press, Aug. 2009
CAT Connection, Aug. 2009
County managers: a series of bad decisions
Click here for the flyer.
San Mateo County workers jump on 'The Fair Share Express'
Aug. 16 - Five cities, five supervisors' districts, one cause - San Mateo County workers jumped on "The Fair Share Express" and shuttled to five consecutive cites, holding a rally within each supervisor's district.
Home care workers demand fair contract
The Daily Journal/San Mateo County, Aug. 17
» Read more
Bargaining Update: Management rejects proposals, becomes unavailable
Our Union Bargaining Team met all last week and until 10 p.m. Friday night.
On Friday, August 6, our Union Bargaining team addressed the Board to encourage them to reach a deal. Our SEIU 521 Chief Elected Officer Kristy Sermersheim also spoke and asked the board to not make any rash decisions.
After the Board meeting, the Management bargaining team came back and rejected our proposals. SEIU offered to meet on Saturday and Sunday to reach a resolution, but management was unavailable as they "needed to do some additional research and check-in with the Board of Supervisors."
Although the contract is expired, workers will still have the same rights as before. There are no changes that can be implemented to our current contract. It is SEIU's priority to continue bargaining until we reach an agreement and to secure one as soon as possible. Currently, our Union Bargaining team is waiting for management to come back to the table.
Workers in San Mateo Co. show solidarity
July 27 - County, court and home care workers packed the Board of Supervisors chambers to urge for fair contracts currently under negotiations.
What is at issue:
Will county leaders support workers who provide vital public services in the community?
SEIU 521 members addressed the Supervisors and personally challenged them to show leadership and do the right thing:
find real budget solutions, make managers pay their fair share, stand up for front-line workers.
June 3 Contract Negotiations Update
WHAT WE CAN EXPECT ARE SIGNIFICANT TAKE-AWAYS.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
- If you are not a Union member yet, you need to sign up! We are stronger when we stand together.
- If you don't have a Steward or Contract Action Team (CAT) member where you work, you can become one!
- Attend the next General Membership meeting. Members' input and involvement are critical to our survival!
- Wear purple every Thursday! The next bargaining session is scheduled for June 10. Stay tuned for updates!
Board of Supervisors Votes to Save SEIU Jobs!
The fight to save all SEIU positions will continue on throughout this month!
GET INVOLVED.
Click here for more information.
Bargaining Priorities
Your elected union bargaining team has reviewed the surveys submitted by members and has determined that the following proposals reflect the priorities of the general membership:
Bargaining Priorities Ratification Document
Archive - Newsletters
The Court Reporter: click here for court newsletter and important news for court workers.
Pitbull Press, May 2010
Pitbull Press, March 2010
Pitbull Press, # 9, Dec. 2009
Pitbull Press, # 8, Dec. 2009
Pitbull Press, Oct. 2009
CAT Connection, Oct. 2009
The Court Reporter, Sept. 2009
CAT Connection, Sept. 2009
Pitbull Press, Aug. 2009
CAT Connection, Aug. 2009
Pitbull Press, Jun. 2009
The Beacon, Mar. 2009
The Beacon, Jan. 2009
The Beacon, Dec. 2008
Budget Update and Survey
Take this survey online now
Or, print this survey and return completed survey to your BAT, shop steward, worksite organizer or fax it SEIU Local 521 at (650) 365-7956, ATTENTION: Brady Calma:
Budget Survey 2010
Courts Workers Ratify Contract
"This is a win for the community, the county and the workers!"
Oct. 29 – County and Court workers voted to ratify a new contract on Wednesday and Thursday -- with no major takeaways!
» Read more
Contract Details
Highlights:
- Nine month extension from November 1, 2009 to August 7, 2010 with no major takeaways
- No wage takeaways
- No increase to health insurance
Click on the link below for contract priority wins, improvements, and changes:
Click here for Courts contract details.
San Mateo County Superior Court Workers Held Bake Sale
Employees raised money for independent audit of court finances
San Mateo Court Reporters at the Realtime differential vote on 3-9-07.
On March 9, 2007 the members of the Court Reporter Unit in the San Mateo Superior Court voted to overwhelmingly accept the tentative agreement reached on the Realtime Differential percentage increase.
"Realtime" is a program provided to Judges by Court Reporters that allow court proceedings to be translated into English almost instantaneously.
As the difficulty is extreme, salary differentials have become a motivating factor encouraging court reporters to obtain "certification" in this process. Seeking parity with surrounding counties, the negotiating team remained firm when presented with management's "theory" of compensation--to include the base salary when reviewing parity with Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties. The team pointed out that the Court had the opportunity to negotiate base salary and a current contract is in place until 2009.
"They can't have a second bite at the apple...the issue is the differential percentage rate not the base salary," stated negotiator Stacy Gaskill .
Effective February 25, 2007 certified Realtime providers will receive a 10% salary differential--doubling the current rate of 5%. Verified Realtime providers will receive a 5% salary differntial; also doubling the current rate of 2.5%.
Another victory in this agreement is the acceptance of a Realtime certificate from a statewide or national court reporter association to verify speed and accuracy. This will allow more frequent opportunities to take the certified test as associations' tests will now be accepted by the Court.
Negotiations Team: Debbie Ramirez, Sonia Risting, Wendy Conde, Maureen Hartman & Stacy Gaskill.
When the team was asked about how they felt about the Realtime negotiations victory, they said: "It was victory though unity. Working together as a team with the unification and support of colleagues is the way to win at the table."