Pay Equity for California State Supervisors and Managers

The CAPS Supervisors’ Committee leads in efforts to improve salary, benefits, and working conditions for all state scientific supervisors through the Meet-and-Confer process with the State. Supervisors receive some benefits not enjoyed by rank-and-file, and most state supervisor and manager classifications received a salary increase of up to 43% in 2014. 

Unfortunately, even after nearly a decade, some supervisors have not received the same salary increases as their colleagues who were directly tied to the Like-Pay-For-Like-Work (LPLW) decision. Many supervisors and managers have been left behind and received only the raises given to related rank-and-file classifications. 

With affiliation, the rank-and-file will have increased bargaining strength to win better pay and benefits, which will indirectly help supervisors and managers, as the gains of the rank-and-file are often extended to supervisors and help us retain our best staff. For example: when rank-and-file scientists bargained the Educational Pay Differential and Diving Pay increases in 2018, or when rank-and-file engineers bargained for longevity pay that was extended supervisory engineers, those benefits were extended to the supervisors.

Proportional Representation 

Currently, the CAPS Board only has one Supervisory Director who chairs the Supervisor Representation Committee that represents both supervisors and managers. Supervisory Active Members may vote for the Supervisor Director and Officers on the Executive Committee (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer). Associate Members (managers) cannot choose their own representatives nor hold office on the Board of Directors. These limitations in voting rights are due to the Excluded Employees Bill of Rights.

The same limitations would continue to apply if the membership votes to affiliate with UAW, however, CAPS will be an Amalgamated Local Union of three separate units for rank-and-file (Unit 1), supervisors (Unit 2), and managers (Unit 3) with proportional representation where you can vote for your own leadership, hold meetings, and have autonomy on matters pertaining strictly to your unit, as outlined in #4 of the Affiliation Agreement. UAW Local Unions that include members who work for different employers or under different units are amalgamated local unions. 

The current CAPS Supervisor Director would essentially become the Unit 2 chair and be the lead representative for supervisor members, but there will be opportunity to have additional supervisor and manager representatives to ensure proportional representation for Units 2 and 3, to be determined by future bylaws changes and input from the membership.

CAPS members will continue to elect Executive Board members (similar to CAPS current Executive Committee, but with additional positions, such as Trustees who will help to oversee CAPS financial books, Sergeant-At-Arms, Guide, and even a Retired Member representative) who administer the local union between membership meetings.

There would also be a Joint Council, which includes the Executive Board and proportional representation for the 3 different units proposed under the affiliation agreement for rank-and-file, supervisors, and managers with proportional representation where you can vote for your own leadership, hold meetings, and have autonomy on matters pertaining strictly to your unit. 

The Joint Council will be empowered to act on behalf of the membership in between membership meetings, but as a UAW Local Union, the membership is the highest authority of CAPS and will be empowered to take or direct any action via membership meetings and votes.  For example: the membership will be entitled to hold referendum votes to overturn decisions of the Joint Council, and we would need to have monthly unit meetings and annual general membership meetings, which we currently don’t have with CAPS.

Workers from each unit will be encouraged to build organizing committees and working groups for unit-specific issues. A committee would continue to be responsible for meeting-and-conferring with the State about wages, benefits, and work conditions on behalf of supervisor and manager members. Supervisors and managers may also sometimes handle member contract grievances as elected stewards with the assistance and support of union staff.

Overall, these structural changes to CAPS will dramatically expand the rights, voice, and involvement of all CAPS members, especially for supervisors and managers who historically have very limited representation and participation in CAPS.

Recruitment and Retention

While excluded employees are prevented from discussing ongoing bargaining matters or taking any position about bargaining of rank-and-file State Scientists, it is clear that – if bargained – the salary increase warranted for rank-and-file will dramatically improve employee retention, reduce time spent hiring and boost employee morale. Equitable salaries will also make recruitment less of a challenge for many supervisors and managers who struggle to generate adequate candidate pools. For supervisors that truly want to support their staff, affiliation is the choice as affiliating with the UAW increases the likelihood that rank-and-file bargaining efforts will be successful.

Expansion of Resources

Supervisor and manager members will gain access to the very experienced UAW International staff representatives to support us in advancing issues and connecting our organization to the broader labor movement.

Political Advocacy 

UAW has more influence over policy. They are a major political player nationally and would elevate our influence over politics and policy. They have a long history of supporting policy to advance and fund science. 

Solidarity, Forever!

Rank-and-file, supervisory, and managerial State Scientists of Unit 10 are collectively stronger together when advocating for and promoting the interests of scientists in State service. 

Do

• Your research! Stay up to date by reading your emails, and reviewing all of the UAW affiliation materials on our webpage
• Attend Town Hall meetings 
• Talk to colleagues including rank-and-file staff, other supervisors, managers
• Get involved and become a leader in your union
• Encourage others to vote
• Reach out to uaw-affiliation@capsscientists.org with questions
• Attend town halls and in-person get-togethers
• Approach conversations with an open mind

Do Not

• Discuss joining the union in any way (either for or against) with rank and file
• Discuss bargaining in any way (either in support or not) with rank and file 
• Let colleagues tell you this is a bad decision without offering anything 

CAPS Leadership will not be sharing a “pros-cons” list for a few reasons. Put simply, a pro to some is a con to others and vice versa. 

CAPS Leadership has done our absolute best to address any potential “con” via the terms in the affiliation agreement. The affiliation agreement reflects a complex and thorough process that began last year. 

Before, during, and after our historic union actions throughout the last few years, we’ve consistently heard from you and your colleagues and it’s become clear that there is a shared desire to build on the momentum we have all created, becoming a resilient, mobilized union membership. At the same time, we recognize how critical it is that affiliation guarantees us our autonomy and a democratic internal structure, as well as a reasonable transition into an equitable dues structure. Given the importance of these structural issues to our membership, the UAW has agreed to a four-year dues transition period during which we can maintain our existing internal structure (described more below) while carefully crafting the modifications necessary to ensure our governing documents align with UAW’s constitution. The goal is, always has been, and always will be, to do what is best for State Scientists. 

Please read the proposed affiliation agreement carefully and feel free to raise any questions or comments in upcoming town halls, solidarity breaks, and in-person socials found on the CAPS Events Calendar, or via email at UAW-affiliation@capsscientists.org. 

If there are any cons of affiliation that you see, we’d love to hear about them so we can dive in and address them! Albeit, at this point, there are not any clear “cons” to us. At best, there are “opportunities” and there are potential “challenges” affiliation would bring State Scientists. Some of the challenges that we believe were addressed via the terms of the affiliation agreement are: 

How we would integrate our current professional labor representatives should we affiliate

By becoming a UAW local union, we retain the ability to enter into contracts and hire local union staff. It’s a top priority that throughout affiliation, we maintain a positive relationship with our professional staff who add unmatched value to our union through their longstanding connection with our bargaining unit. Affiliation does not compromise our ability to maintain our existing contracts with staff. 

Changes in Dues Structure 

We absolutely recognize that any change in dues is a stressful topic. CAPS leadership recognizes this change in dues is a big change for those who will experience an increase, and that is exactly why we negotiated a phase in over four years…to minimize the impacts of changing dues, and ease CAPS members into paying what all UAW members pay by 2028. This long, drawn-out phase in was what we believed was best for the membership. More details on the dues structure outlined in the affiliation agreement are available on our webpage: https://capsscientists.org/uaw-affiliation-faqs. For a detailed breakdown on how CAPS-UAW affiliation would impact dues, by each classification, see our dues breakdown spreadsheet.

UAW members determine the dues structure through their democratically-elected local union convention delegates at the Constitutional Convention. It’s not just the dues structure, it’s the entire UAW constitution. The UAW Constitution is the highest law of the Union. It has been adopted, and can be amended, only by a majority vote of the delegates at regular Constitutional Conventions or Special Conventions. Every four years, the UAW holds a Constitutional Convention where delegates adopt resolutions that set the union’s position on important workplace and societal issues, decide constitutional changes, and elect officers and regional directors. Local union members elect their convention delegates. Local union delegate numbers and votes are based on membership size.

Representation 

Throughout affiliation and becoming a local union of UAW, we would have to ensure that a substantial continuity of representation exists, which UAW has guaranteed us. All officers, directors, committee members, and local representatives shall continue to hold the same positions until the next regular CAPS election. Staff and representatives responsible for grievance handling and meet-and-confers  will remain the same, with the added benefit that a servicing representative of the International Union, UAW may participate alongside CAPS’s existing representatives. 

CAPS leadership will also work with our current contracted professional labor representatives and UAW representatives to ensure there is no lapse in representation. For situations such as cases in front of the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) or the State Personnel Board (SPB), Skelly Hearings, and anything going to arbitration, we will ensure the necessary legal representation is provided in coordination with UAW representatives and CAPS attorneys. Ultimately, immediately post-affiliation we will begin to develop our union stewardship program (for all union members, including supervisors and managers). Union stewards will consist of members who volunteer or are voted-in to represent their co-workers, after receiving appropriate training. We will be working closely with experienced UAW representatives and our experienced consultants who will serve as mentors throughout this process.

Learning curve

Our affiliation agreement gives us until 2026, the year of the next UAW Constitutional Convention, to ensure our CAPS Bylaws conform with the UAW Constitution. Should we affiliate, supervisors and managers will take a more active role in our union (which is both a benefit and a foreseen challenge)! This will include both the operations of the union and the representation of other supervisor and manager  members. If we are not prepared to be involved in our union, the new structure may not be as successful for members, as it could be. However, the rank-and-file of CAPS does already have an active group of approximately 250 members of the Contract Action Team who have been organizing members during our contract campaign, we can learn from their processes as an example! So, we have a great team of experienced member leaders that will help make affiliation with UAW successful!

Right to disaffiliate 

Our right to disaffiliate is defined in #22 of the affiliation agreement. 

Operating budget

CAPS leadership has done extensive budget analyses and worked specifically with UAW when developing our affiliation agreement to ensure that we can meet our budgetary needs and obligations. UAW has been incredibly flexible and sensitive to our budgetary concerns and are willing to work with us to ensure CAPS is able to fulfill all of our financial responsibilities as a Local Union. Our affiliation agreement allows us the opportunity to meet our current financial and contractual obligations.

Dues cover all of the day-to-day costs of being part of a strong union, including organizing resources, rank-and-file bargaining and supervisor/manager meet-and-confers, contract enforcement and grievances, and other operations as determined by CAPS. Additionally, dues help pay for organizing staff, legal and grievance representation costs, staffing, rent, equipment, and supplies. Dues also go toward the UAW Strike and Defense Fund, which will create additional leverage at the bargaining table by helping California State Scientists build the capacity to strike if necessary.  More information about how dues are allocated for use by CAPS members can be found on the UAW Affiliation FAQs webpage.

For less than two hours of pay per month in dues, affiliation with UAW would expand our access to an attractive set of resources to fight for the things we care about together as State Scientists. Affiliation would provide us additional access to legal and labor organizing experts; increase our political power; and increase the tools in our toolbox (strike fund). UAW has a proven track record of success – and while ultimately our fight will rely on all of us building our membership and showing up to participate – UAW has the pull and expertise to develop a winning strategy.

• Unfortunately, even after nearly a decade, some supervisors have not received the same salary increases as their colleagues who were directly tied to the Like-Pay-For-Like-Work (LPLW) decision. Many supervisors and managers have been left behind and received only the raises given to related rank-and-file classifications. With affiliation, the increased bargaining strength of the rank-and-file to win better pay and benefits will indirectly help supervisors and managers, as the gains of the rank-and-file often trickle up and help us retain our best staff.
• Currently, the CAPS Board only has one supervisory director who chairs the Supervisor Representation Committee that represents both supervisors and managers, however, managers cannot choose their own representatives. If the membership votes to affiliate with UAW,  CAPS will be an Amalgamated Local Union of three separate units for rank-and-file, supervisors, and managers with proportional representation where you can vote for your own leadership and have autonomy on matters pertaining strictly to your unit. This will dramatically expand the rights, voice, and involvement of supervisors and managers. 
• While excluded employees are prevented from discussing ongoing bargaining matters or taking any position about bargaining, it is clear that – if bargained – the salary increase warranted for rank-and-file will dramatically improve employee retention, reduce time spent hiring and boost employee morale. Equitable salaries will also make recruitment less of a challenge for many supervisors and managers who struggle to generate adequate candidate pools. For supervisors that truly want to support their staff, affiliation is the choice as affiliating with the UAW increases the likelihood that rank-and-file bargaining efforts will be successful.
• Supervisor and manager members will gain access to the very experienced UAW international staff to support us in advancing issues and connecting our organization to the broader labor movement.
• UAW has more influence over policy. They are a major political player nationally and would elevate our influence over politics and policy. They have a long history of supporting policy to advance and fund science. 

• The current flat dues rate of $59/month applies to every member equally, regardless of salary, so the lower paid and entry level scientists end up paying a disproportionately larger proportion of their salary in comparison to higher paid scientists of CAPS. Affiliation with UAW will increase dues with an equitable formula based on a percentage of salary. And not just by a few bucks. Within 5 years, dues will likely be $100-$150 per month for many supervisors and managers. These costs will be phased in over four years and supervisors and managers will pay a lower portion of their pay than rank-and-file members, due to the fact they don’t legally have the right to strike. Check out this page for more information on the dues structure, should CAPS affiliate with UAW.
• There’s a learning curve. Under the new model, supervisors and managers will take a more active role in their union (which is both a benefit, and a potential challenge). This will include both the operations of the union and the representation of supervisor and manager members. If supervisors are not prepared to be involved in our union, the new structure may not be as successful for supervisory members, as it could be.