Bargaining Updates

March 7, 2024

Your CAPS Bargaining Team (CAPS Team) met last week to discuss various upcoming meetings awaiting scheduling with the State. A handful of departments have released notices regarding new Return to Office (RTO) policies. Your CAPS Team discussed strategies on how to protect telework and address the various changes and issues that have arisen with regard to these notices, and what these meetings will look like in the coming weeks.  

CAPS and CalEPA will meet on March 14, 2024. This will be the first Meet and Confer regarding the new RTO policies. Your CAPS Team will be reaching out to a select group of CAPS members at CalEPA who completed the CAPS Telework Survey to invite them to give a presentation at the upcoming Meet and Confer as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). 

CAPS has reached out to the other departments who have released proposed changes to their telework policies, including CDFW, CalHHS, Department of Cannabis Control, and Department of Consumer Affairs; we have yet to hear back. 

Additionally, CAPS labor representatives have been contacted recently about departments inappropriately moving forward with Return to Office plans before holding Meet and Confers with CAPS. For example:

• Members have reported that CalRecycle has encouraged supervisors to call staff back to the office on a 1- or 2-day per week schedule. CAPS has attempted to work with CalRecycle and will be moving to a more formal route to counter the Department’s actions. CalRecycle can’t have it both ways. CalRecycle has verbally instructed employees to RTO, without formal policy change and without meeting with your CAPS team.
• The Department of Water Resources has continued to push for a full-time RTO for certain divisions, and our labor representatives are currently researching the best way to push back on this action. 
• The Department of Pesticide Regulation has rolled out updates to duty statements to specify whether someone works from a remote location or in a “high-rise office building.” CAPS is pushing back on this, too. There is no reason for a duty statement to describe work location.

The only way CAPS labor representatives and your CAPS Bargaining Team can push back on new policies rolling out is if you and your colleagues join CAPS and keep us in the loop about what is going on at your worksites! Be sure to email CAPS at caps@capsscientists.org with any questions you have about new or changing circumstances at your workplace. 

Great job completing the CAPS Telework Survey! 1,897 rank-and-file scientists completed the CAPS Telework Survey. This provides your CAPS Team with real data from your colleagues, and adds to the information we need to argue our case! 

Opening Briefs Due. As mentioned in previous Bargaining Updates, CAPS will continue to defend the legality of our November strike before PERB by preparing written briefs for a PERB Judge’s consideration. As a reminder, a brief is a written legal document presented to a judge/court arguing why one party involved in a case should prevail. CAPS and CalHR’s opening briefs are both due THIS Friday at 5pm. 

The UPC filed against us has nothing to do with the LBFO, and does not interfere with our right to call for collective job actions going forward. The State cannot impose anything that would waive our statutory rights, such as our right to strike. 

LBFO. The State has informed CAPS that the LBFO is still ‘in process.’ We expect a decision from CalHR on the matter but there is currently no timetable for such a decision. Governor Newsom should absolutely be ashamed. We have every right to be angry and push our cause through collective action and any and all other means for achieving pay equity for State Scientists. State Scientists continue to do vital work for the state that protects and promotes the economic and physical well-being of all Californians. 

Join CAPS! Want to join your colleagues in building solidarity and power through actions for a fair contract? Join CAPS Today! 

Member-Led Actions Continue! As recently as last week, CAPS members and other union state workers rallied in Sacramento to let this Administration and departments know that we are saying HELL NO to the proposed updates to Telework Policies. Additional actions are being planned, be sure to stay up to date by subscribing to the CAPS Event calendar here. 

REMINDERS

• Share your thoughts with your CAPS Bargaining Team using this form. Please note that your CAPS Bargaining Team will not be able to respond to every comment or suggestion, but will be reading all of the messages received. 
• CAPS-UAW Affiliation Town Hall Meetings Scheduled! Visit https://capsscientists.org/uaw-affiliation/ for more information and attend a town hall to have your affiliation questions answered. The remaining town halls are listed below.
  • Friday, March 8, 12-1pm
  • Monday, March 11, 12-1pm
  • Wednesday, March 13, 12-1pm
  • Thursday, March 14, 12-1pm

May 2, 2023

Highlights in this update:

• Bargaining Survey Closes Friday, May 5
• Member Proposals due Friday, May 5
• Keep up SCIENCE TUESDAYS!
• Apply to join the Contract Action Team (CAT)!
• Ground Rules Reached
• CAPS Passes 20 Proposals
• 17 Sections TA’d

Show up for your Union, CAPS! Keep up the actions – wear your green CAPS shirt every Tuesday and sport those virtual backgrounds! Make sure your CAPS Bargaining Team can trumpet your support – take a picture with you and your colleagues rocking your CAPS green! Then, tag CAPS on social media: @capsscientists (Instagram and Twitter) and email your photos to caps@capsscientists.org for a chance to be featured on CAPS’ social media pages! 

Reminder: May 5 is the deadline for Bargaining Survey and Member Proposals. As of April 28, 1,358 State Scientists have dedicated time to fill out the CAPS Bargaining Survey and make their wants and needs known! Have YOU? This survey is an opportunity to share your priorities for bargaining in percentage pay increases, other compensation items, healthcare, telework, necessary changes to your classification, other ideas for improvements and what you are willing to do to obtain these improvements. Be sure to take the Bargaining Survey on or before THIS FRIDAY, May 5 so that we can present data to the State’s Team. We’ve already heard that they are interested in how many Scientists SHOW UP for CAPS – make your voice count!  

Similarly, the CAPS Bargaining Team has been receiving, reviewing and discussing member submitted proposals for the successor MOU. If you have ideas, the CAPS Team wants to hear from YOU. Get your proposal in on or before May 5 to ensure that the Team has an opportunity to review before passing proposals. Use this template to submit your proposal to caps@capsscientists.org. 

Want to join your colleagues building our collective power at the table? Apply to join the Contract Action Team (CAT) here.

Ground Rules Agreed To – Onto Negotiations. After a few discussions and multiple passes at and away from the bargaining table, CAPS and the State reached agreement on Ground Rules for this “round” of negotiations. These Ground Rules have similar language to what CAPS has agreed to in the past. The CAPS Team was able to ensure that member time and efforts who serve as observers or Subject Matter Experts in the future were protected and that, should a Tentative Agreement be reached, the CAPS Team is able to provide the necessary information to the membership for an informed decision. You can see the final result of the Ground Rules discussion here. 

CAPS Passed 20 Proposals. The agreement on Ground Rules allows the rest of the negotiations to start, and start we did. The CAPS Team has taken the time to review the sections from the previous total tentative agreement that needed no additional changes or updates and presented 19 of those sections. Those sections included items like: Section 2.2 Merit Salary Adjustments and 4.1 Holidays. Additionally, the CAPS Team proposed updated language for Section 3.15 Blood Donation to change the final sentence to guarantee time without loss of compensation during regular work hours as opposed to the previous language that was permissive. You can see all the proposals CAPS passed here. 

17 of 20 Proposals Tentatively Agreed to. Of the 20 proposals that were passed, only three were held for additional review by the State’s Team. You can view all the current TA’s here.

Future Schedule. The CAPS Team has placed a hold on every Tuesday until the end of June to meet with the State’s Team. 

December 27, 2022

Please read this message in its entirety. 

Be Informed! Attend a Worksite Meeting. The CAPS Bargaining Team will be hosting a minimum of 10 worksite meetings starting later this week, December 29 at noon, that will run on the released schedule until January 26, 2023, to provide you details about the Total Tentative Agreement and to hear from you. All worksite meetings are scheduled virtually to allow for the best access to members across the State. You’ll note on the current schedule that most worksite meetings are being held during the lunch hour (noon to 1:00PM). All members will receive 1 hour of State Release time to attend one lunchtime worksite meeting. In addition, there are two worksite meetings being held in the evening (January 12 and 26, 6:00PM – 7:00PM) and one on a Saturday morning (January 21, 9:00AM – 10:00AM) to ensure that there are plenty of meetings you can potentially attend. Be an educated voter, attend a worksite meeting! 

Ratification Resources Available. The CAPS Bargaining Team has put together Ratification Resources that can be found here. These resources should serve as your starting point to gathering information on the Total Tentative Agreement. Your next step? Attend a ratification worksite meeting! Then make sure to vote! 

Registration for Worksite Meetings LIVE. All links to pre-register to attend worksite meetings, hosted on the Ratification Resources page, are now LIVE. All Rank-and-File CAPS Members are eligible to attend.  You must pre-register to attend. Click on the dates listed on the website to register for that particular meeting. You will receive a confirmation email and link to join the meeting at the email address you provide one day before the meeting to ensure the link is easily found. You do not need a Zoom account to participate in the meeting. Each person’s link is individual. Please do not share your link with anyone. Doing so will result in your removal from the meeting. 

When registering, you will be able to submit questions for the Question-and-Answer session. Questions that are submitted ahead of time will be addressed first. If multiple members submit the same question, the questions will be consolidated to get through as many questions as possible. Please be sure to read and abide by the Virtual Meeting Participant Expectations.

Timeline of Vote Allows for Attendance at Worksite Meetings. Voting will commence December 28, 2022, and end January 31, 2023, at 6pm. A third-party vendor, ElectionBuddy, will be used for this ratification vote and it will be managed completely by ElectionBuddy – CAPS will have no access to the vote information until the results are released. Individual ballot links will be sent to CAPS Members only, at the personal email address on file, and by postcard, sent to members’ home address on file. If you would prefer to vote by mail, you can request a paper ballot by following the instructions sent to you on the postcard from ElectionBuddy. Please be sure to update your home address and personal email address with the CAPS offices (caps@capsscientists.org) as soon as possible to ensure you receive your ballot with enough time to vote prior to the closing of the vote.

October 6, 2020

Master’s Level SMEs Present. The CAPS Bargaining Team (CAPS Team) met with CalHR again last week to continue bargaining a successor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); salaries remain the focus of discussions.  The CAPS Team continued to focus on educating the new CalHR representatives on the long-standing Unit 10 salary lags, the impacts they are having on California’s scientific programs, and the urgent need to remedy the salary issue immediately.  The discussions built on our September 16^th bargaining session, where our “Bachelor’s Level” Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) gave presentations.  All four presentations from that session can be viewed here.

Last week’s meeting featured our “Master’s Level” benchmark classification, Research Scientist III, which represents classifications within Unit 10 where the minimum educational requirement is a master’s degree.  Two CAPS members served as SMEs and made presentations: Hilary Rosen (Research Scientist III – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Los Angeles), and Jason Van Court (Research Scientist III – Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Sacramento).  Their presentations focused on the extensive training and experience they acquired prior to entering state service, the vital work they perform protecting California’s public health – including their work on California’s COVID-19 pandemic response – and the serious impacts the on-going salary lags are having at their workplaces (e.g. decreased morale, a sense of being expendable, departures to higher paying jobs, etc.).  They also highlighted how they, as Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)-exempt employees, do not receive compensation for the many hours of overtime they have worked on the state’s COVID-19 response.  In spite of all of this, they also expressed a real appreciation and dedication for their jobs and emphasized how critical their work is for California’s citizens.  A video of their presentations will be available soon.

During our next bargaining session, CAPS will focus on our final benchmark classifications, Staff Toxicologist and Veterinarians, to represent the “Doctorate Level” and “Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Level” benchmark.

CAPS Team Presents, As Well.  Presentations by the CAPS Team focused on educating CalHR on some of the highly specialized classifications within Unit 10 and further explaining the internal horizontal salary relationships that existed prior to implementing the Like Pay for Like Work (LPLW) decision in July of 2014. For approximately 30 years prior to 2014, salaries between all classifications within Unit 10 related to each other, based on the minimum education requirement for a classification, the level of responsibility required, and experience and technical expertise.  However, these internal salary relationships have remained broken ever since the last administration adjusted salaries for supervisors and managers in certain classifications pursuant to the LPLW court finding that similar work requires similar pay.

In addition to highlighting the disrupted internal salary relationships between classifications, the CAPS Team also presented salary comparisons between Unit 10 Research Scientists and their Federal counterparts.  This effectively demonstrated the large salary lag that exists with other equivalent public sector scientists and why the state has difficulty attracting and retaining the scientific talent it needs.  In addition to being paid much less than their Federal counterparts, a majority of the “Master’s Level” classifications work in high-cost areas of the state, such as our scientists who work at the CDPH Richmond Campus.  These scientists, along with many other Unit 10 scientists who work in high-cost areas, do not receive geographic pay; whereas all Federal employees do.  Geographic pay is an Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) topic and will be discussed in depth at future meetings.

The CAPS Team also emphasized how Work Week Group E (FLSA-exempt) was not created for months- or years-long emergency situations, but rather as a way to handle the ebb and flow of day to day work fluctuations.  Some CAPS members have been routinely working well over 40 hours a week on emergency responses for extended periods of time and do not receive overtime like employees in other non-Work Week Group E classifications.  This is another IBB topic for discussion at future meetings.

The CAPS Team also continued to add to our salary story, by emphasizing the vital work State Scientists perform, the educational and technical expertise requirements within our Unit and the critical need for experienced State Scientists.  The CAPS Team also presented anecdotal information we hear from our members regarding recruitment and retention issues and how it negatively impacts the programs in which they work.

CalHR’s Contributions.  While CalHR’s Team listened to the presentations, and asked questions of the presenters; their contributions to the story were minimal. The CalHR Team remained silent on the Unit 10 salary lag and didn’t provide any formal acknowledgement, verbal or otherwise, that there is a serious salary issue in Unit 10.  Finally, CalHR’s Team stated again that the State expects a multi-year deficit, and that new projections on the state’s budget likely will not be released until January 2021.

Roll Overs.  Finally, both teams made progress toward a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by approving a packet of 49 sections of the contract that would remain the same, or roll over.  You can view the list of rolled over sections here.

Be an Informed Membership: Bargaining, The Basics. Part 2: 

The imbalance of power between government employers and employees sparked a law that gave California’s local- and regional-government employees the right to organize and collectively bargain in 1968.  The Ralph C. Dills Act granted similar rights to rank-and-file state employees in 1977.

Before that, the California Legislature decided what to spend on state workforce salaries and benefits with no employee input.  State employers addressed workplace inadequacies only if managers agreed the concerns had merit.  Federal laws and the State civil service system provided some protections against employer abuses.  However, it was (and still is) challenging for an individual, alone, to navigate the process to protect themselves.

The Dills Act contains language that explains the law’s intention to create a more balanced system between state government and its employees:

•  “… to promote full communication between the state and its employees by providing a reasonable method of resolving disputes … “
• “… to promote the improvement of personnel management and employer-employee relations … by providing a uniform basis for recognizing the right of state employees to join organizations of their own choosing and be represented by those organizations … “
• “…to foster peaceful employer-employee relations …”

Following several legal challenges, the Dills Act went into effect in 1981. Today, it continues to provide state employees a vital collective voice in their service to California.  CAPS is that voice for state scientists.  Our employer – the State of California – has a tremendous amount of power, but we can match that with people power of the union.  So, please help keep your union strong by committing to CAPS membership today!

In Solidarity,
CAPS Bargaining Team

Other Important Updates.

Board of Directors’ Meeting Minutes Posted. Board of Directors’ Meeting Minutes Posted. The Draft Minutes from the August 22, 2020 Board of Directors’ Meeting are posted on the CAPS Website. View them here.

June 26, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you all for being an engaged membership! There have been many excellent questions about the Side Letter Agreement reached yesterday. Given the short timeline, the CAPS Bargaining Team felt it best to relay one of the most frequent questions we have received since voting opened this morning:

What does a “YES” vote mean? 

The total reductions to State Scientists’ take-home pay equate to a 5.93% reduction because the CAPS Bargaining Team negotiated offsets to reduce the impact from a 9.23% reduction down within this side letter agreement. More details are below:

• You will receive 2 Personal Leave Program (PLP) days each month, with a 9.23% deduction in pay. The PLPs will be flexible, bankable, and may be cashed out upon retirement.
• You will not pay into your post-retirement health benefits, “OPEB” (Other Post-Employment Benefits, or “CERBT” on your pay stub) for the duration of the PLP 2020 program. You currently pay 2.8% into OPEB. The state will continue to pay their share into the OPEB fund.
• Your retirement contribution will be reduced by 0.5%. This reduction was going to take place July 2021. CAPS negotiated to have this reduction implemented sooner, in July 2020.
• The 640-hour vacation/annual leave cap will be increased through June 2025.
• “Re-opener” language regarding funding of the July 1, 2020 5% general salary increase (GSI).
• The OPEB and retirement offsets total 3.3%, which means the 9.23% compensation reduction will actually be a 5.93% reduction.

What does a “NO” vote mean?

The Administration will impose on us measures they see fit to address the economic crisis caused from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

We have every reason to believe those measures will be 2 furlough days per month, starting in July 2020. You will be required to use these furlough days in the month they are accrued. No negotiated offsets will be included and you will experience a 9.23% reduction in pay. The Personal Leave Program’s flexibility, bankability, and ability to be cashed out will not be provided by the Administration’s imposition. Finally, there will be no language to allow CAPS the ability to discuss the future of the previously agreed-to 5% GSI.

Regardless of a “yes” or “no” vote, CAPS’ 5% GSI was not funded in the budget, so the pay raise will not occur whether the membership approves the side letter agreement or not. However, the side letter agreement includes “re-opener” language regarding the future funding of the 5% GSI.

Ballots Have Gone Out. Ballot login information has been sent to CAPS Members’ email address on file (and only to dues-paying members – nonmembers will not receive a ballot). If you do not receive the email from Simply Voting, please visit this link to provide an alternate email address to ensure you can vote: https://capsscientists.org/caps-bargaining-updates/alternate-email/

Thank you once again for your engagement.

In Solidarity,

CAPS Bargaining Team

June 9, 2020

Discussions Continue. The CAPS Bargaining Team (CAPS Team) met with CalHR again last week to continue discussions surrounding potential creative options as a result of the employee compensation reductions in Governor Newsom’s May Revise. As mentioned in previous Bargaining Updates, CAPS and CalHR have embarked on what is called “Interest-Based Bargaining.” This alternative process appealed to the Bargaining Team because it fosters the ability to discuss any and all creative solutions to problems faced by both parties without the fear of being told “no” without explanation.

In traditional positional bargaining, the only way to propose solutions to problems faced by either party is to pass papers filled with legal jargon across the table to one another, and either take that language and make changes, accept the proposal in its entirety, or reject the proposal and provide a separate proposal. This often leads to misunderstandings or inferences about each side’s motivations for proposals. This is especially true because each side reads the proposal from their own perspective and with their own biases. Additionally, positional bargaining is much more “tight-lipped,” which forces both sides to play their motivations close to the vest, lest the other side gains the upper hand.

Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB), on the other hand, requires both sides to be forthcoming with their full story and interests, including shared interests. IBB also does not allow for evaluation of any of the ideas (called “options”) thrown out by either party until the appropriate time. Because of this; however, there are no “proposals” to share and not a lot of information can be released until the options begin to be evaluated by both sides.

We have now reached the point in the IBB process where the steady stream of creative solutions has run dry. The CAPS Team has asked CalHR to ensure there are no more options to consider. Both CalHR and the CAPS Team have put forth (as yet unevaluated) multiple options (including those proposed by members) including, but by no means limited to:

• Golden Handshakes for members close to retirement;
• Implementing the Governor’s proposed furloughs as more flexible, bankable, Personal Leave Program hours;
• Funding the July 1st 5% raise through an extra day of Personal Leave Program time plus the temporary suspension of certain employee compensation items in the MOU;
• A suspension of the 640-hour Vacation/Annual Leave Program cap; and
• A suspension of employee OPEB contributions while the state maintains its share.

The CAPS Team has repeatedly emphasized the need for the long-standing administratively-created salary issues to be addressed, and that these compensation cuts will not be readily agreed to by our membership without consideration to the disparity. CAPS emphasized that CalHR did not appear to fully understand or appreciate the issues facing CAPS members, and urged them to provide more substantive solutions. The CAPS Team emphasized what the 5% raises represented to CAPS members, that it was the small first step to acknowledging and addressing CAPS Scientists’ long-standing salary lags.

At that, CalHR assured the CAPS Team that after costing items in the CAPS MOU that could be mutually agreed to for suspension to mitigate the impact to employees’ paychecks, and having put forth all viable options, they had no more options to contribute. CalHR has now requested that the CAPS Team begin to determine which options may work for the CAPS Membership, if any, and discuss them this week.

Both sides have expressed gratitude for the honest, open, and frank discussions that have been held over the last few weeks.

Adding additional considerations for the CAPS Team, the California Legislature announced a draft agreement last week on a budget bill that does not include any cuts to employee compensation, nor to scheduled raises, and does not provide the Administration the authority to impose furloughs during the next fiscal year. It does; however, reserve the right to make cuts should no federal funding be realized by October. While the Legislature’s proposed budget does not include any employee compensation cuts, legislative leaders spoke out to encourage the use of collective bargaining to help lower budget costs. If the Legislature’s budget bill passes, it goes to Governor Newsom, who reserves the right to veto items such as employee raises. The CAPS Team plans to continue the current negotiation effort, in case the Legislature’s budget doesn’t pass.

The CAPS Team has repeatedly emphasized to CalHR the need to include time for the CAPS Membership to voice their opinion on any option deemed viable by both parties, and the need to have an informed and engaged membership. As more information becomes available, the CAPS Membership will continue to be updated.

Choose Unity, Choose Strength, Choose CAPS.

Bargaining Updates are sent only to dues-paying CAPS Members. Encourage your nonmember colleagues to join today to ensure they, too, can stay informed.

In Solidarity,

CAPS Bargaining Team

Other Important Updates.

Professional Development Days – Use Them or Lose Them. CAPS MOU, Section 15.10, provides all CAPS members with two days per fiscal year for activities to promote one’s professional growth and to enhance professional goals. The days must be used prior to the end of the fiscal year, June 30th. Use your Professional Development Days (PDD) before the end of the fiscal year to ensure you don’t lose them. An important note is that your pay warrants only show hours for “PD” once you’ve used your Professional Development Days, otherwise it remains zeroed. If you have a question regarding how to determine whether you’ve used your professional development days this year, contact your personnel specialist. If you have any additional questions about PDD, contact CAPS at caps@capsscientists.org.