Saturday, August 1, 2009

Local 1000 Members Vote to Authorize Strike

Members of SEIU Local 1000 have voted by 74% to authorize a strike. Ballots were due at 5 p.m. Friday, and were counted today. Local 1000 represents around 95,000 civil service state employees.

No strike date has been announced, and options for job actions include activities short of a strike. A spokesman quoted in the Los Angeles Times said the union would be holding a number of meetings next week to decide what our next step is.

Local 1000 negotiated a new contract with the state in February, but the governer has not supported the contract he negotiated in the legislature and it remains unratified by legislators.

In its strike vote Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sheet, Local 1000 argues that:

If an employer’s unfair labor practices leave the union no option but the last resort of striking, then state law provides that the strike can be legal even if a contract contains a No Strike clause, as ours does.

The FAQ also states:

Workers should not claim, at work or anywhere else, that Local 1000 has made the decision to go on strike, no such decision has been made. If workers were to spread the untrue rumor that Local 1000 has now decided to walk out on strike, it could affect the legality of a strike if Local 1000 were to make such a decision.

CSUEU and Local 1000 are affiliates of the California State Employees Assocation (CSEA), as are the Association of California State Supervisors (ACSS) and CSEA Retirees.

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