We highlight below two areas of the union's work in the closing months of 2017 – and please remember that we are here for all of you, all year round.
First, we want to share with you the message we received from the bargaining team at the Museum of Tolerance, the newest agency to join Local 800. They wrote:
On behalf of the Local 800 membership at the Museum of Tolerance, we’d like to thank all AFSCME Local 800 union members for your continued support, from our organizing effort to our ongoing first contract negotiations. We're pleased to report that after months of bargaining we are finally making some headway with management. We are confident that with your continued support we will succeed in wining a contract that provides fair pay, and finally provides some benefits to part-time staff.
In addition, we’re pleased to report that we finished the year by settling a new contract with the Jewish Vocational Service GAIN unit. After negotiating for most of the year, we won 15-17% wage increases over three years for staff with over one year of service and improvements in vacation and sick pay bonuses, and we maintained all other benefits and provisions of the Agreement. The large wage increase was accomplished after JVS was finally ordered by LA County to pay the “Living Wage” of $14.25/hour to their lowest paid staff of clerical workers. The clericals were making only $12.41/hour. Their salaries will increase to $15.00/hour on January 1, 2018.
JVS is an LA County subcontractor for the GAIN program (Welfare to Work) and subject to the Living Wage Ordinance. The increase to the lowest paid staff created an upward pressure on management to agree to the 15-17% increases for the Case Managers and Job Developers. This is one of the clearest examples of the direct benefit to working families from AFSCME and the Los Angeles labor movement’s active support for elected officials such as the pro-labor majority on the LA County Board of Supervisors.
JVS GAIN workers were also able to stave off an attempt to severely reduce their Kaiser health benefits. Due to strong contract language, Local 800 members were able to secure the option to stay in their current plan for a reasonable cost of $38/month.
