Your 008 bargaining team met with the department regarding the ongoing challenges in the GA program. Management informed us that they will be using the designated backlog workers for intakes beginning May 1st. They also stated that their request for additional money to fund GA was denied by the Board Of Supervisors but will be revisited in September for consideration. Your team expressed our extreme frustration at the impossible amount of work for all members, including GATE in the GA unit. Our members are burned out and they have had enough! Workers aren’t even able to take breaks & lunches in some cases due to the overwhelming pressure they feel to service these clients who have been waiting months for an interview.
UPE demanded that supervisors be held accountable in assuring our members are given breaks and lunches or grievances would immediately be filed. We also made several information requests so we can adequately assess the volume of work being done. We proposed that GA intakes be reduced from 7 to 5, for which the department did not immediately respond, but said they would get back to us. We will be meeting with management again soon and will continue to update you as always.
Stay Tuned
UPE WOULD LIKE TO THANK KEISHA RAVEN, JAMES STARR, NICHOLE GORMAN & STEPHANIE MCCALL FOR THEIR ADVOCACY AND PARTICIPATION.
