California state scientists seek affiliation with strong national union to win better contract

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California’s state scientist union will soon vote on whether to affiliate with a powerful national union in a move that bucks 40 years of tradition as an independently run organization.

Since 1984, state scientists have been represented by the California Association of Professional Scientists. The small independent union was formed by a group of scientists who disaffiliated from the larger California State Employees’ Association, now known as SEIU Local 1000. The goal was to have more specialized and targeted representation for state scientists.

Currently, the union represents roughly 5,300 state employees – both rank-and-file as well as supervisors and managers. CAPS has been fighting for a contract for nearly four years and staged the first-ever strike among California state workers.

Now, CAPS leaders are asking members to vote “yes” on an affiliation agreement with the United Auto Workers, which has more than 600 locals across the country.

UAW’s political clout (and robust strike hardship fund) are just two of the reasons why leaders at CAPS are excited about the potential new partnership, said union president Jacqueline Tkac.

Affiliating with an organizing powerhouse like UAW also marks a departure from the more traditional “service model” union, as CAPS points out in its voting guide to members. Tkac says they’ve “definitely outgrown” that model and credits a new generation of board members — all of whom are under the age of 40 — with pushing the union to embrace a more activist role.

“I think for so long there’s been a culture of ‘third partying’ our union,” Tkac said, “and it’s just seen as our union is simply a business that provides a service.”

Instead, under the new “organizing model”, members would be much more involved in the day-to-day operations of the union and have greater decision-making power.

“The power of the membership is unmatched,” Tkac said. “It’s not the union doing things on behalf of the membership. It’s the union doing things as the membership.”

The vote will open at 8 a.m. on March 18 and close at 11:30 p.m. on March 31.

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