San Mateo County Contract Campaign 2022

JANUARY BARGAINING UPDATE–FEB, 2, 2022!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Have you read the news report about the wasted PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) by the County? Read the news article and watch the video here. We started our bargaining session on January 20, 2022, by informing management that we were horrified to learn about the PPE wasted (with an estimated cost of at least $7 million!) while some of our own co-workers contracted COVID. Who was the PPE reserved for? Many departments must order PPE from a vendor and the PPE is locked. All of this is happening while the County keeps telling us there is no money to fund essential frontline services our community depends on.
  TAKE ACTION NOW – Share your story and concerns Covid safety at work, your access (or lack thereof) to PPE, and how you feel about the wasted PPE.

• The County keeps refusing to give us any telework protection, especially now with the Omicron variant being so contagious, and many areas not having access to proper PPE. There is no rhyme or reason for telework requests being denied or approved by management.“Even though we have positive exposure in my department, they only allow sworn staff to telework, but not our clerical staff. We have requested management to stagger our staff at the office for the safety and health of our co-workers, but this has fallen on deaf ears. Meanwhile, management has offices with doors and is able to work from home; we, on the other hand, work in cubicles and are not allowed to work from home. Our safety is clearly not their concern nor priority!”
  – Natasha Sims, Legal Office Specialist, Probation Department and SEIU 521 Northern Region Chapter Vice Chair

 

• TAKE ACTION NOW – Share your story and concerns about what’s happening with telework being unreasonably denied.

• The County is still not responding to any of our economic proposals. While AFSCME has reached a tentative agreement, management has not offered the same economic terms to us. Management has continued to leave us 1/1/1%–they haven’t moved from this. Our union bargaining team is still fighting for the best union contract for all of us–which includes good wages, secured benefits and retirement, and better job protections.
• We passed the following additional proposals on January 20. The County has not yet countered on these new proposals.
  • Sick leave requests – We requested a turnaround time of 2 days for a response from management for requesting advanced time off to go to doctor’s appointments.
  • Improve representation for committees
  • Improve layoff language with additional protections – We are requesting to increase the notification from 30 days to 60 days with additional support to navigate the layoff process through HR.

Your SEIU 521 Bargaining Team returns to the negotiations table on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. Your Bargaining Team is ready to take on management’s behavior. We need you to remind them that we are all standing up together to protect and improve our wages, benefits, and working conditions.

TAKE ACTION NOW TO SUPPORT YOUR BARGAINING TEAM

Take the first step to support our efforts at the negotiations. Click here and add your name to our petition – it’s critical we show a united front to the County Supervisors. Once you add your name, share it with your co-workers!

PURPLE UP WEDNESDAYS!

Remember to wear purple to work every Wednesday.
We must show our employer that we are in solidarity to win a fair contract.

In unity,

Your SEIU 521 San Mateo Bargaining Team:
Mercedes Segura, Chapter Chair
Natasha Sims, Northern Region Chapter Vice Chair
Katherine O’Malley, Southern Region Chapter Vice Chair
Eileen Browning, Chapter Chief Steward
Nancy Meneses, Chapter Recording Secretary
Luci Latu, E-Board Delegate
Sharon Wilson, Child Support Analyst
Yaniv Cohen, Information Technology Analyst
Isaiah Vi, Information Technology Analyst
Jashika Kumar, Public Services Specialist

HEALTHCARE & RETIREMENT 

• SEIU 521 county workers currently pay our share of contributions towards our pension. We want to preserve that without requiring increased contributions that will further hinder retention of staff and our ability to provide for our families.
• SEIU 521 county workers must use accrued sick time towards retirement for retiree healthcare. We ask the Board to extend the same policy that management enjoys to our workers who provide essential services every day.
• Investing in our families’ health and well-being by improving and maintaining affordable healthcare benefits.
• Long commutes can cause anxiety, fatigue and stress which reduce productivity, motivation, and inspiration. Long hours in commute to and from work hinders our ability to spend time with our families. The County must meet its commitment to adequate access to services, wellness, and to the health and safety of its employees and community.

TELEWORK AND STAFFING

• The County needs to work with us to find innovative approaches to modernize the workforce and increase efficiency by implementing a clearly defined and equitable telework program.
• Telework programs have had a direct effect on reducing the workforce carbon footprint, reducing greenhouse gasses, and mitigating climate change.
• Being short-staffed increases workloads, undermines work efficiency, lowers morale, <link rel=”preload”
  

DAY OF UNITY– FEB 24   

We are calling on SEIU 521 members across the County to take part in a day of action unity to force the County and the Board of Supervisors to INVEST IN US, RESPECT US, AND PROTECT US.