SEIU Local 521 | PHONE: 661.321.4190 | facebook.com/SEIU521Kern | www.seiu521.org

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Working people standing together

Next Bargaining Session:

July 27 at 10 a.m.

A message from our Bargaining Team Leader, Maria Salinas:

As you all know, we had a Bargaining Meeting yesterday with Management. During the meeting, the Union requested that Jon Gusman attend to answer questions regarding budget information which was given to the Union. Management is now telling us that the projected deficit is between $300,000 and $503,000, which is an increase from their previously projected deficit. The Union did not present a new proposal and proposed the previous proposal given to management on July 7. The proposal given to Management at that time provided cost savings to clear the projected deficit. We did sign two Tentative Agreements which were language changes only. To date, we only have 8 Tentative Agreements. We will be meeting at the table again on July 27 at 10 am.

I would like to thank all of you who participated in both the Unity Break and the lunch action. It is very important that we stick together and keep moving forward to reach an agreement that benefits not only the staff of Kern Regional Center but also supports the clients and their families. It was nice to see that we obtained some media coverage yesterday during lunch and we had some parents come out to show support. Families and organizations in the community are becoming aware of issues here at Kern Regional Center and are willing to help us during this time.

I urge you all to be informed and see how the proposals Management has given will affect you. If you do have questions, please feel free to approach anyone from the Negotiations Team to obtain the most current and accurate information. We are here to answer your questions. Please be patient with us because we have been extremely busy not only doing our jobs and continuing our family life, but also working on Union business.

Once again thank you all for your support!

Maria E. Salinas, M.S.

Service Coordinator

July 22, 2016

Building momentum