u/Ancient-Row-2144

This was expected by a lot of people but Marci Frost confirmed during this morning's webchat that CalPERS will be sticking with their 3 day in office default policy.

This is the same position she had when the order previously came down. She said she sees no reason to change it, that the policy is working, and the metrics show it.

Text:

May 14, 2026

Bargaining team negotiators for Unit 1 returned to the table on May 7th and May 12th with a continued focus on compensation and workload issues. In addition, the team presented solutions to address professional development and high vacancy rates in Unit 1 classifications.  

On May 7th, BUNC member and Senior Personnel Specialist, CJ Knotts presented newly proposed contract language addressing ongoing workload concerns from our Unit 1 Personnel and Payroll Specialists. In her presentation, Knotts effectively expressed some of the simmering concerns around staff burnout coming from higher workload burdens not keeping pace with current staffing levels for these classifications in some departments. CalHR has not responded as of May 12th.   

On Tuesday, May 12th, our negotiators returned to the bargaining table. While we were able to secure agreements to incorporate language in the contract memorializing the Analyst reclassification, the state doesn’t currently have interest in addressing the ongoing overwork of FLSA exempt employees and rejected our team’s initial proposal on that issue.

Our team also proposed language changes to section 11.54.1 of our current contract, which seeks to expand professional development opportunities for employees at the Department of Industrial Relations while increasing recruitment and retention and lowering vacancies.  

After presenting the proposal, Carolyn Alluis, a BUNC member and Management Services Technician, commented “Implementation is where the state struggles to meet our Union. We are working to make sure our hard-fought rights are continued for our members.” 

Unit 1 will be back at the table on Thursday, May 14 with more updates to come. 

Not a ton of new info in this e-mail that just went out but thought I would pass along for those who don't receive it:

"Our Unit 1 Local 1000 bargaining team began negotiations with CalHR on April 28 and immediately presented significant proposals related to workload and compensation.

 

Using our bargaining survey, regional town halls, and member-to-member organizing, Local 1000 reached thousands of Unit 1 members. The participation of analysts, IT professionals, accountants, program specialists and many more civil servants helped the negotiation team as they developed proposals reflecting the unit’s bargaining priorities.

 

The proposals presented Tuesday included Out of State Pay Differential and Professional Certification Pay. Civil service workers with professional certifications perform the most complex and important work all over the country. State compensation should reflect that.

 

David Aguinaldo, Business Tax Specialist at the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and subject matter expert on Unit 1’s bargaining team, said "These exams and courses aren't cheap...they can take 10-20 hours a week outside of normal business hours for years to prepare for these exams, and that [cost of time and money] should be reflected in the language."

 

Additionally, the team also presented proposals regarding the treatment of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempt employees as being permanently on-call as well as language related to Arduous Duty Pay for FLSA exempt employees.

 

The State had no responses to our Union proposals on Tuesday.

  

Mike Ramos, Unit 1 Vice Chair, stated "Our goal is to secure an agreement that respects us for the vital work that we do, whether it's teleworking, field work, or from our offices. We make California run and we won't settle for anything less than what we deserve."

 

Don’t forget to watch for weekly updates coming out Thursdays at 9 a.m.

 

Our team will meet again with CalHR Thursday morning, April 30, to continue lifting the priorities of Unit 1."