July 2006, Electronic Version

Contents:

Cover Story: UDW Progress Report UDW Legislative Update A Santa Barbara Success Story

Victory in San Luis Obispo Financial Letter Meet Your Advisory Board

UDW Progress Report:
BIGGER, BETTER, STRONGER

Dear UDW Member:

As 2006 unfolds, your union continues to make genuine progress as we strive to become bigger, better, and stronger than ever.

First, UDW is scoring impressive gains in becoming a well-run and financially sound organization. Remember, financial mismanagement was the chief reason UDW was placed under administratorship a year ago by its parent union, AFSCME.

On May 30, 2006, we received an official report from the UDW’s chief accountant, Gary Voice. He confirmed “substantial positive changes in the financial position of UDW since the event of the administratorship in June 2005.”

This dramatic turnaround is the result of cutting waste and unnecessary costs. It means your hard-earned dues money is being spent wisely. UDW strives to improve services, strengthen membership, and negotiate the best possible contracts.

For full details see Financial Letter below .

The UDW Advisory Board had its first meeting and workshop on June 16-17 in San Diego. This dedicated group of rank-and-file UDW members has begun working directly with the Administrator to move forward campaigns and programs that are helping rebuild the union. (see story on our Events Page) One of those campaigns just produced a big victory for union members in Santa Barbara County. There, a coordinated lobbying and media effort by UDW stopped County officials from canceling their contract with Addus HealthCare, Inc., and threatening the jobs of 130 unionized home care providers. (Meet Your Advisory Board)

Meanwhile, UDW keeps lobbying at the State Capitol over a host of important bills impacting the livelihoods and pocketbooks of union members. (Legislative Update)

We face serious challenges in the months and years ahead: Proposals in Sacramento crucial to union members are being debated in the closing months of this year’s legislative session.

For the first time in UDW’s history, every bargaining unit has a contract that includes language for health benefits and pay raises. However, the struggle does not end with that good news. We have both ongoing and upcoming contract negotiations on behalf of thousands of UDW members in key bargaining units in the near future, and hopefully we will achieve even better contracts.

A union, like any membership organization, is only as strong as its members make it. The new team at UDW is dedicated to working night and day to revitalize this union. We are being supported by the members of the Advisory Board and by countless other committed rank-and-file UDW activists from every county within our jurisdiction.

You must do your part, too. That means writing letters and helping to lobby legislators. It requires attending membership meetings and taking an active role in drives to preserve and improve union contracts.

And of course the all-important fall election campaign, where voters will decide who makes decisions that affect us. It takes walking precincts and working phone banks during election campaigns.

By working together, we really can make UDW bigger, better, and stronger!

In solidarity,   Flora Walker UDW Administrator

UDW Legislative Program
Moving Forward

The centerpiece of UDW’s 2006 legislative agenda, direct deposit of paychecks for IHSS workers, was funded in the State budget signed on June 30. In a major victory for UDW members and all home care providers in this state, lawmakers overwhelmingly agreed to fund a system that will give providers the long-sought choice to have their paychecks directly deposited into their bank accounts.

Momentum for this victory came from AB 2697, a measure authored by Assembly Member Bonnie Garcia (R-Cathedral City), and passed unanimously in the Assembly.

The new direct deposit system, first proposed in AB 2697, will reduce costs of printing and mailing paychecks, eliminate theft and fraud, and establish a more streamlined, uniform payroll processing system to ensure that IHSS workers get paid on time and in a safe and reliable manner.

There are many other bills pending in various stages including:

• SB 1660, allowing counties greater flexibility in negotiating wage and benefit increases for home care workers.
• AB 3048, letting IHSS workers be paid for accompanying clients on medical appointments.

See more on our Legislative Pages

UDW Saves 130 Jobs
Union Members in Santa Barbara County Keep Their Jobs

At first the news was bleak: The Santa Barbara County Department of Social Services notified 130 UDW-member home care providers that the County’s contract with their employer, Addus HealthCare, Inc., would be cancelled and their jobs would end as of June 20.

Within two weeks, UDW devised a multi-pronged strategy to save the jobs of union members. The union’s mobilization involved membership meetings, enlisting clients’ support, lobbying County Supervisors, and staging media events.

County Supervisor Salud Carbajal showed up and apologized to the providers for the “angst, tension, and concern” caused by County officials who cancelled the Addus contract.

UDW lobbied all five County Supervisors, who expressed shock over the cancellation of the contract and affirmed they would address the issue. On June 27, a majority of the Board of Supervisors voted to extend the agreement with Addus for six months to study the matter and also demanded Social Services justify why the contract should be terminated.

See more photos and details of the Santa Barbara story on our Events Page

Victory in San Luis Obispo!
Persistence Yields Results

After years of struggling with the Public Authority (PA), UDW was able to get the PA abolished in San Luis Obispo. The County’s Board of Supervisors set up a new governing board and implemented all of the recommendations of UDW. The recommendations benefited UDW members and their clients.

Go to next page (Story on Advisory Board) ...