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The Timeline

 

1866: National Labor Union (NLU) was the first national labor federation in the U.S. It was successful in influencing the Federal government into establishing an eight-hour work day for government workers in 1868.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Labor_Union

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https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Labor-Union

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https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/august-20

 

1886: American Federation of Labor (AFL) is the largest union grouping in the first half of the 20th century. It is originally a crafts union where workers were united by a particular trade.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Federation_of_Labor

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http://www.ushistory.org/us/37d.asp

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http://lcweb2.loc.gov:8081/ammem/amrlhtml/dtafl.html

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http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3193

 

1913: Creation of the Federal Reserve System (The Fed) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve

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https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed.htm

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https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/federalreservebank.asp

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service

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https://www.irs.gov/

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https://www.thebalance.com/the-internal-revenue-service-3193097

 

1913: California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) is established by law to provide retirement, disability and survivor benefits for California's 914,454 pre-kindergarten through community college educators and their families.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalSTRS

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http://www.allgov.com/usa/ca/departments/government-operations-agency/california_state_teachers__retirement_system?agencyid=176

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https://www.calstrs.com/sites/default/files/file-attachments/overview_2019.pdf

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1921: Building Services Employees Union (BSEU) begins in Chicago with janitors, elevator operators and window washers.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Employees_International_Union

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http://www.seiu.org/blog/2015/7/a-union-of-janitors-is-born

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https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/labor/service-employees-international-union

 

1929: The Wall Street Crash, or Stock Market Crash, signals the beginning of the 12-year Great Depression.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929

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https://www.thebalance.com/stock-market-crash-of-1929-causes-effects-and-facts-3305891

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https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929

 

1930: California voters approve an amendment to the State Constitution to allow pensions to be paid to state workers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalPERS

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1931: California state law is passed to establish a state worker retirement plan.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalPERS

 

1931: California State Employees Association (CSEA) is formed making it the fourth oldest organization of state employees in our country.

CSEA becomes a driving force for State employees’ retirement.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Employees_Association

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http://www.calcsea.org/About

 

1932: CalPERS is created for California State employees’ retirement. It is initially called State Employees' Retirement System (SERS).

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalPERS

 

1932: American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees is formed in Wisconsin. It would later become the largest trade union in the US with 1.3 million members and as well as the largest in the AFL-CIO.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Federation_of_State,_County_and_Municipal_Employees

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https://www.afscme.org/union/history/afscme-75-years-of-history

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https://www.influencewatch.org/labor-union/american-federation-of-state-county-and-municipal-employees-afscme/

 

1932: The first Glass-Steagall Act separates commercial and investment banking to prevent risky investments by commercial banks.

 

1933: The second Glass-Steagall Act, called the Banking Act of 1933, provides more comprehensive measures regarding the separation of commercial and investing banking.

 

1933: CSEA forms the California State Employees’ Credit Union #1 (CSECU #1) with eleven state employees. It is now known as Golden 1 Credit Union.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Employees_Association

 

1935: The Wagner Act on July 5, 1935, gave private sector employees the right to form and join unions,  employers to collectively bargain with these exclusively majority approved unions, and establishes a new National Labor Relations Board  with real enforcement powers to address US labor law and unfair labor practices between unions and employers in the private sector.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Labor_Relations_Act_of_1935

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https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/who-we-are/our-history/1935-passage-wagner-act

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https://www.fdrlibrary.org/wagner-act

 

1935: Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) originally in 1935 called the Committee of Industrial Organizations is created from unions that were expelled from the AFL in 1936 but changed its original name to its current name. It is based on industrial unionism, meaning all workers of a particular industry regardless of skill would unite under a common purpose.

  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Industrial_Organizations

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https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/today-in-labor-history-the-cio-is-created-in-193/

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https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/usa/history/labor-cio.htm

 

1939: California State Legislature passes a bill that allowed local public agencies such as cities, counties, and school districts to participate in CalPERS.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalPERS

 

1947: Taft-Hartley Act outlaws closed shops in which employees at unionized workplaces are required to be members as a condition of employment. It also outlaws agency shops, where employees pay the equivalent of union dues, but are not required to formally join a union.  The Act requires that the workplace must be open shop, where employees are neither compelled to join a union or pay the equivalent of union dues, nor can they be fired for joining a union. (Note: This does not apply to local governments.)

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Labor_Relations_Act_of_1935

 

*1951: The Twenty-Second Amendment was ratified by the states on February 27, 1951, that established term limits for the elected U.S. President to two terms in office for a total of eight years after this historic amendment was passed by Congress on March 24, 1947. 

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution  

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https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-the-22nd-amendment-came-into-existence

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https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/amendments/22/limit-on-presidential-terms

 

1955: AFL and CIO merge together for unity, forming the AFL-CIO.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFL%E2%80%93CIO

 

1959: Wisconsin becomes the first state to allow public sector unions to collectively bargain.

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http://www.caperb.com/2011/03/25/a-little-history-on-the-labor-movement/

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https://www.labornotes.org/2018/06/five-lessons-history-public-sector-unions

 

1961:  George Brown Act was the first legal legislation to give public employees in California formal rights to participate in the decision-making process which determined the terms and conditions of their employment.

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https://ocde.us/LegalServices/Documents/Collective-Bargaining-and-Labor-Relations-Workbook-2016.pdf

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1962: President John F. Kennedy on January 17, 1962, authorizes Federal government employees to collectively bargain and unionize.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_10988

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https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/labor-management-relations/reports/labor-management-relations-in-the-executive-branch-2014.pdf

 

1968: BSEIU changes name  to SEIU, with headquarters in Washington D.C.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Employees_International_Union

 

1968: Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), signed by Gov. Ronald Reagan, allows city and county employees to collectively bargain.

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https://www.perb.ca.gov/Laws.aspx

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https://ocde.us/LegalServices/Documents/Collective-Bargaining-and-Labor-Relations-Workbook-2016.pdf

 

1976: Educational Employment Relations Act (ERRA) allows collective bargaining for school and community college employees.

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https://ocde.us/LegalServices/Documents/Collective-Bargaining-and-Labor-Relations-Workbook-2016.pdf

 

1976: Educational Employment Relations Board (EERB) is created as a result of collective bargaining for school and community college employees. The name is changed to Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in 1978 with the passage of the Ralph C. Dills Act.

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https://www.perb.ca.gov/Laws.aspx

 

1977: The State Employer-Employee Act (SEERA) signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on September 30, 1977, gave State employees the right to unionize and have an exclusive representative for bargaining units. 

 

1978: SEERA was renamed as the Ralph C. Dills Act  on July 1, 1978 (Gov. Code sections 3512-3524), that  authorized public sector unions to collectively bargain on wages, hours, and benefits for their represented employees.

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https://www.perb.ca.gov/Laws.aspx

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https://ocde.us/LegalServices/Documents/Collective-Bargaining-and-Labor-Relations-Workbook-2016.pdf

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1978: Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) for CSU and UC employees is signed by the State Legislature. The law is enacted in 1979.

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https://www.perb.ca.gov/Laws.aspx

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https://ocde.us/LegalServices/Documents/Collective-Bargaining-and-Labor-Relations-Workbook-2016.pdf

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1978: Sacbee reported on August 24, 1984, in an article about State Scientists decertifying CSEA that "The only other election involving an attempt by one union to take away membership from another union since the state's collective bargaining law went into effect in 1978 was an unsuccessful attempt by CSEA to raid the California Union of Safety Employees." This Union is known as the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) (BU 7).

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1979: CSEA wins collective bargaining for State and California University employees representing 12 of the 20 different bargaining units at the time. Four distinct divisions are created between 1984 and 1988 at the urging of SEIU.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Employees_Association

 

1982: Rank-and-file civil service State employees are now covered by collective bargaining with the first ever contract negotiated with Gov. Jerry Brown.

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1982: Ralph C. Dills Act  in 1978 (Gov. Code sections 3512-3524) was amended due to an agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown sand CSEA shortly before Gov. Deukmejian took office, to allow fees (fair-share) to be collected from non-members without a membership vote on the matter. CSEA gave up the right to represent supervisors to get fees from non-members.

 

1984: CSEA becomes on February 2, 1984, CSEA, Local 1000, SEIU,  AFL-CIO, Canadian Labor Congress (CLC). This affiliation with AFL-CIO member will protect CSEA from losing bargaining units (bu) to decertification (3 BUs still decertify).  CSEA now receives “no raiding” protection from AFL-CIO unions under the Article 20 clause of the AFL-CIO constitution. CSEA and SEIU will now work together to promote candidates and political positions that support labor. Over a four-year period, 4 district divisions are created under CSEA at the urging of SEIU because SEIU only wants to represent State employees for financial reasons. The 4 divisions are as follows:

 

  1. Retirees – changed to CSEA Retirees Inc. in 2004

  2. Supervisors – changed to Association of California State Supervisors (ACSS) in 2001.

  3. California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) – changed to SEIU Local 2579 in 2004.

  4. Civil Service Division (CSD) –In 2003, CSEA gave their charter and transferred the Local 1000 name to CSD, which then became SEIU Local 1000, Union of California State Workers, AFL-CIO, CLC. With 56,000 of CSEA's 100,000 membership and 65% of the total number of dues and fee payers, CSD has more than half the majority.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Employees_Association

 

Local 1000 also becomes an affiliate of California State Council of Service Employees, which is also known as SEIU California and is an affiliate of SEIU. SEIU California strives to improve unity with SEIU locals in California.

 

Local 1000 also has a Political Action Committee (PAC) that is funded by a percentage of membership dues. In addition to a member’s regular dues, Local 1000 automatically deducts an additional $2 per month from the member’s paycheck to support Local 1000 political activity. The member must specifically instruct Local 1000 to not withhold this additional monthly $2.

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1984: SacBee reported on March 3, 1984 that on March 2, 1984, CSEA "failed for the second time to represent prison employees in labor negotiations." The vote was was 3,370 to 920 for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) (BU 6) to retain its own independent union. CSEA has now again failed to raid this Union after losing in a runoff after the first election against the peace officers 'group since neither CSEA, CCPOA, or the Teamsters won a majority of votes.    

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1984: Sacbee reported on August 24, 1984, that on August 23, 1984, State Scientists voted to decertify from CSEA with a vote tally of 633 to 308 for a new independent union-California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS) (BU 10) with 54 for no union. This marks the first time a BU has left CSEA with 2 additional BUs decertifying in the following years.  

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1984: SaceBee reported in the months of November and December that due to Gov. Deukmejian 's forced insistence through the Department of Personnel Administration for an agency shop vote, CSEA holds a Fair-share Elections on December 20 and 21  for BUs with the smallest percentage of membership which resulted in being less than 60 percent membership  to vote on non-members having to pay fair-share fees to CSEA . On December 20, 1984, BUs 20 and 11 voted to keep fair-share fees with 513 to 108 for the 1,800 employees for BU 20 and 876 to 633 for the 3,300 employees for BU 11. However, on December 21, 1984, BU 1  with 24,000 employees voted 6,343 to 6,117 to end fair-share fees while BU 4 with 32,000 employees voted to retain fair-share fees.  

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1985: SacBee reported on May 14, 1985, that the California Supreme Court ruled that public employees have the right to strike.  California has not had a strik by State employees since 1979 and 1972 when some water project workers walked off the job for several days because of salary disputes.

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1986: SacBee reported in an article on July 18, 1987, about BU 12 becoming the 3rd CSEA BU to gain its own independence, that BU 18 was the second CSEA BU to vote  to leave CSEA. BU 18 is the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians (CAPTS).

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1987: SacBee reported on July 18, 1987, that BU 12 is the 3rd CSEA BU to break away for its own independence to become the Alliance of Trades and Maintenance. The new Union in December 1991 affiliated with The Laborers International Union of North America and then eventually become affiliated with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) (BU 12) on May 3, 1991 by a decertification vote. Per SacBee reported on May 4, 1991 that "Nearly 6,400 of the 10,500 Alliance of Trades and Maintenance members voted. The Operating Engineers got 3,283 votes compared to 2,752 for the laborers. Another 341 voted for no representation.."

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1988: CSEA and SEIU sign a second affiliation agreement after the expiration of the first affiliation agreement from 1984. This second affiliation agreement is a lifetime affiliation under SEIU Constitution Article 16.

 

1990: Excluded Employee Bill of Rights Act is signed for managerial, supervisory and confidential employees. CalHR does not negotiate labor contracts or formal agreements with these 3 groups.

 

1990: Prop 140 establishes term limits for State Legislature and the governor in order to fight corruption and injustice.  State Senators may serve a maximum of 2 terms, while State Assembly members are limited to 3 terms. The governor has a 2-term limit. In June 2012, Prop 28 changed term limits to 12 years, regardless of whether they are served in the State Senate or State Assembly. Prop 28 also reduced the maximum service of a State Legislator from 14 to 12 years.

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https://ballotpedia.org/California_Term_Limits,_Proposition_140_(1990)

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https://lwvc.org/issues/california-term-limits 

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http://www.smartvoter.org/2012/06/05/ca/state/prop/28/

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1991:  SaceBee reported on October 24, 2000, that concerning CSEA BU 1 over the issue on non-members paying fair-share fees that "In two previous votes on the fees-one in 1984 and another in 1991-a simple majority of voters was required. Both times, the fees were rejected."   

 

1991:  SacBee reported on November 15, 1991, that "The California State Employees' Association has beaten back an attempt to decertify the union as bargaining agent for 2, 186 state teachers, librarians and archivists. Ballots tallied Thursday by the Public Employment Relations Board showed that 955 members favored keeping the CSEA. Another 290 were opposed and 39 said they wanted no representation. The election was held among members of Bargaining Unit 3. Most of its members are high school and vocational teachers in state prisons, hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Others include workers at the state Archives and Library in Sacramento and some employees at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo.  

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1992: SacBee reported on October 14, 1992, that CSEA for the first time in its 62-year history endorsed a U.S presidential candidate, Democrat Bill Clinton.

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1992: A group of CSD members campaigns against contract ratification endorsed by CSEA. These members organize the Caucus for a Democratic Union after they are removed from office and barred from serving for one year. However, these insurgents win cases in court battles and with PERB.

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https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/union-divided/content?oid=9553

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https://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/26-CSEA%20in%20SEIU.htm

 

1996: CSD insurgents win the majority of delegates at the CSEA convention. CSD, with the required two-thirds vote, wins independence in controlling CSD affairs without having to rely on CSEA. CSD director Jim Hard supports SEIU goals while the newly elected CSEA President Perry Kenny wants to secede from SEIU in 2001 due to a power struggle with SEIU and refusing to participate in SEIU’s "New Strength Unity Plan", launched in 2000, which required locals to  pay more money and abandon their names and logos, and use the purple and gold SEIU banner. 

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https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/union-divided/content?oid=9553

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https://www.labornotes.org/2000/03/union-leaders-suspended-being-part-reform-caucus

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https://nlpc.org/2001/11/05/california-state-employee-blast-seiu-move-disaffiliate/

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https://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/26-CSEA%20in%20SEIU.htm

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https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/misc.activism.progressive/0IQH31q3CEg

 

1997: SEIU Local 1000 pays $5.80 per capita per member to SEIU monthly. This per capita eventually increases to $7.65 by 2005. Regardless of whether an affiliate makes a distinction among the membership classes (dues-paying, fair share fee payer, or NGO), SEIU makes no distinction and charges the same amount per capita. The sum of $0.40 out of the per capita per member will be set aside for a Strike and Defense Fund to aid Local 1000 in authorized strikes and defending against lockouts.

 

1999: Graham-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) repeals the Glass-Steagall Act.

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1999: SacBee reported on March 6, 1999, that the recently negotiated CSEA contract with Gov. Gray Davis contained a provision that would require BU 1 non-members to pay fair-share fees, but BU 1 non-members have not paid fair-share fees since 1984  and again in 1991 when the membership voted to abolish these charges. 

 

2000: SacBee reported on February 2, 2000, that "The California State Employees Association board has moved to suspend the four highest-ranking officers of its Civil Service Division, alleging they have turned their organization into a competing union and pose "an immediate threat." The suspensions -- effective Feb. 15, the same day nominations begin for union leadership posts -- is the latest dust-up in a years-old feud between the board and reform-minded leaders of rank-and-file workers.  The 85,000-member Civil Service Division is the largest of the CSEA's three divisions and represents nine of the association's 21 bargaining units, ranging from nurses to office workers. A year ago this month, the board rescinded a strike vote taken by leaders of the division and took steps to oust its director, Jim Hard. This week, the board voted not only to suspend Hard, but the division's three other top leaders: Cathy Hackett, Marc Bautista and Ron Landingham. According to division officials, two other members were also notified of their suspensions: Walter Rice, director ofCSEA's Sacramento Region, and Adrienne Suffin, a statewide coordinator. "! have detennined that your actions pose an immediate threat to the welfare of the association," CSEA President Perry Kenny said in a letter to Hard. Among the allegations cited by Kenny were improper use of the CSEA's electronic information system, Hard's effort to promote the interests of his division over the CSEA, and his attempts to represent the CSEA in "matters of wage, hours and working conditions." The four officers are all members of the Caucus for a Democratic Union, which claims 300 union activists and has been harshly critical of the board and its policies. Most recently, members of the division who sit on the board voted against raising Kenny's salary to nearly $100,000 a year. 

 

2000: SacBee reported on October 24, 2000, that " Thousands of nonunion state workers will be required to continue paying monthly union fees, officials said Monday in announcing the results of a key election challenge of the so-called "fair share" fees. The unsuccessful challenge came in Bargaining Unit I, one of the state's largest bargaining groups and one with a history ofrejecting the fees. The unit, one of 21 in California, covers 37,532 professional, administrative, fiscal and analyst employees in various state departments. Nearly two-thirds are nonunion.  While a majority of the employees who cast ballots in the monthlong election voted to rescind the fees, the election required a majority of all employees in the bargaining unit - not just those who voted - to rescind them. 
So while 11,464 ballots were cast against the fees, compared with 8,349 cast to maintain them, the challenge failed because it fell short of the 18,767 votes constituting a majority of all employees, said Les Chisholm, regional director for the state Public Employment Relations Board, which ran the election.  In two previous votes on the fees - one in 1984 and another in 1991 - a simple majority of voters was required. Both times, the fees were rejected. But those previous votes were not formal challenges of the fees, as was the case in the current election, and state labor laws did not require the higher vote threshold, Chisholm said........ The fees were authorized in 1982 by legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, a pro-labor Democrat, and became part of the contracts in 1983, just as the new Republican governor, George Deukmejian, was taking office.  In I 984, Deukmejian required that employees be given the chance to vote before being forced to pay the fees. In Bargaining Unit I, the fees were rejected by a simple majority vote. The fees were reinstated in 1991, but Gov. Pete Wilson, another Republican, also required that they be subject to a vote. Again they were rejected by a simple majority vote in Bargaining Unit 1.  The fees were reinstated last year in contracts between Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, and the unions. Davis did not put the issue to a vote, but opponents in Bargaining Unit 1 gathered enough signatures to force a vote. In such formal challenges, state labor law requires the higher voter threshold, Chisholm said."

 

2001: SEIU Local 1000 begins to pay SEIU a monthly increase in per capita per member, eventually reaching $7.65 by 2005. An additional unity per capita tax also begins, starting with $1 and increasing $1 annually to reach $5 by 2005 in an effort to win improved pay and benefits for our members. Local 1000 must pay these fees to SEIU before paying any Local 1000 bills.

 

SEIU Local 1000 is also an affiliate of SEIU California State Council and pays $0.34 per member for this affiliation. This payment can end with 120-days prior written notice of such action to SEIU California State Council.

 

The unity agreement can also end if arbitration states that SEIU failed to meet its responsibilities to Local 1000, by majority vote of Local 1000 General Council at special or regular meeting, or by written mail ballot. However, SEIU has 90 days prior to the vote to communicate with Local 1000 General Council.

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https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/union-divided/content?oid=9553

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https://www.uniondemocracy.org/UDR/26-CSEA%20in%20SEIU.htm

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2002-SacBee reported on July 10, 2002, that "Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Joe Gray has ordered the reinstatement of the leadership of the California State Employees Association's Civil Service Division. The court injunction returns Jim Hard and Cathy Hackett to their respective positions as division director and deputy division director of finance until the state Public Employment Relations Board can rule on a dispute between the association and the Civil Service Division - the organization's largest unit. 
In May, association officials announced that Hard and Hackett would be removed from their positions for two years because the two used union funds and time to aid Hackett's unsuccessful Sacramento City Council campaign.  Hard and Hackett say the attempt to remove them was payback for other actions that ruffled CSEA's feathers. It will be months before the issue before the Public Employment Relations Board is settled, officials said.  The California State Employees Association represents state supervisors, retirees and California State University employees. " It should be noted that on October 21, 2002, PERB ruled in favor of JIM HARD, CATHY HACKETT, RON LANDINGHAM, MARC BAUTISTA, ADRIENNE SUFFIN & WALTER RICE.

 

2007: In August, member dues jump dramatically by 50%, from 1% to 1.5%, under Local 1000 President Jim Hard. This is the first dues increase since 1990. The approval for the significant dues increase to meet financial expenditures was obtained in October 2006 at the special General Council called by Jim Hard. It passed by a vote of 270 to 125. Only 395 out of 600 total delegates voted on this increase.

 

https://capitolweekly.net/paycheck-shock-local-1000-dues-up-50-percent/?fbclid=IwAR08QKVZCVtlkvVZ-fdNQejHom_AfKcS9zWCCCA7mcVEtDTSjVOwjPQl1Dc

 

2008: Committee on Political Education (COPE) forms at the May 2008 SEIU convention in Puerto Rico. This federal political contribution is $6 per member per year for Local 1000. If this threshold is not met, Local 1000 pays the difference plus a 50% penalty.  A member can fill out a COPE application for a monthly $10 minimum contribution.

 

2010: Prop 25 passes on November 2, 2010, changing the requirement for passing a budget in the State Legislature to a simple majority rather than a two-thirds vote. Legislators forfeit their pay if a budget not passed in a timely fashion. The two-thirds requirement for raising taxes is retained.

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https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_25,_Majority_Vote_for_Legislature_to_Pass_the_Budget_(2010)

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https://lao.ca.gov/ballot/2010/25_11_2010.aspx

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https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Prop-25-which-eases-budget-process-passes-3167729.php

 

2010: On November 8, 2010, Local 1000 signs a new contract agreement after prior contract expired on June 30, 2008,. This new contract has an effective date of July 1, 2010, through July 1, 2013. This contract retracts one day’s pay each month for an entire year (2010 PLP). This is a 5% pay cut for a year for the one day per month PLP. (Note: There was a 3% pay increase on July 1, 2013, for employees at the top step, but it was not applied to the rest of Local 1000 represented employees.)

 

2012: In June, Prop 28 changes State Legislature terms to a 12-year maximum regardless of whether they are served in the State Senate or State Assembly. 

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_California_Proposition_28

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https://lwvc.org/issues/california-term-limits

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http://www.smartvoter.org/2012/06/05/ca/state/prop/28/

 

2012: Despite 2012 being a national election year for Democrats across the nation, Governor Brown, a Democrat, still asks us to give up one day’s pay (2012 PLP) even though we are under a signed contract that has already given up one day's pay per month for a year (2010 PLP). At the encouragement of our Union leadership and because Governor Brown threatens to resort to a four-day work week composed of 9.5 hours work days, 65.76% of our dues-paying membership who voted approve of the June 2012 side-letter agreement, which reduces our pay by 5% per one day per month for a year (The total number of voters is not disclosed).

 

State Senate has 40 senators for 40 districts. A Senate term is 4 years with 20 seats up for re-election every 2 years. State Assembly is 80 assembly members from 80 districts serving 2-year terms.

 

2013: The FY 2013-16 contract provides an overall 4.5% pay increase over the three years of the contract, with no increase for FY 2013-14, a 2% increase in FY 2014-15, and 2.5% in FY 2015-16. The increase for FY 2014-15 is dependent on State revenues for that year, with the condition that if there is insufficient revenue, the entire 4.5% general salary increase would go into effect in FY 2015-16.

 

2016: When our most recent contract negotiations come to an unsatisfactory standstill, a strike is called for December 5, 2016, but Local 1000 informs everyone that strike benefits will not be paid. In the end, this strike action was called off after the Union reaches an agreement with the State on December 3, 2017. Governor Jerry Brown later signs this agreement on March 15, 2017, after it is ratified by both our dues-paying membership and the State Legislature.

 

Where Are We Now?

 

2017: The new contract for July 2, 2016, through January 1, 2020, gives 4%, 4%, 3.5% pay increases for FY 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20, respectively. However, for the first time in our history, we will now help pre-fund the other post-employment retirement benefits (OPEB) even though these have already been guaranteed. Per this contract, we are now bound to contribute 1.2% towards our retirement healthcare beginning July 1, 2018; an additional 1.1% (meaning 2.3% total) beginning July 1, 2019; and an additional 1.2% on beginning July 1, 2020, when our retirement healthcare contribution reaches 3.5% total. This contract has a net total pay increase of only 8% after the healthcare contribution is factored in. (Pay increases of 4% + 4% + 3.5% = 11.5%, minus 3.5% for healthcare equals an 8% net increase.) There is no pay increase for FY 2016-17. Instead, a $2,500 bonus is awarded to certain Local 1000 represented employees.

 

California Government Code §2287 (a) (b) states that medical costs in retirement are guaranteed to be paid by the State unless the State and a Union agree to negotiate this matter. If this were not the case, Governor Brown would have simply imposed this 3.5% for all State employees across the board. Simply put: this new retirement healthcare contribution is the result of our Union leadership’s failure to be steadfast in fighting for us.

 

**The numbers since 2008 indicate that we have not had an overall net pay increase that would enable Local 1000 members to enjoy financial advantages or create the sustainable communities that would be produced by such an increase. The furlough fiasco took away our power and produced a 13% loss along with the combined 10% pay loss for 2010 PLP and 2012 PLP. So 13% + 10% =23% total pay loss since 2008. If we total the last two contracts’ combined pay increase of 12.5% (4.5% + 8%) and subtract from that 23% pay loss since 2008, we arrive at an overall net loss of 10.5%. The rising costs of healthcare from 2008 were not included in the overall 10.5% net pay loss for our unionized employees, yet our statewide officers receive a salary stipend for their volunteer service to our Union. We need new Union leadership so we can truly enjoy more than just the fruits of social and economic justice but also the meats and vegetables of an overall net increase in financial compensation. We need leadership who are not afraid to show the power necessary to gain respect and long-term vision for a well-balanced diet.

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**June 27, 2018: Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, No. 16-1466, 585 U.S. ___ (2018), abbreviated Janus v. AFSCME, was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court on US labor law, concerning the power of labor unions to collect fees from non-union members. Under the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947, which applies to the private sector, union security agreements can be allowed by state law. The Supreme Court ruled that such union fees in the public sector violate the First Amendment right to free speech, overturning the 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that had previously allowed such fees.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus_v._AFSCME

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