CFS Update: Virtual Membership Meeting Tues., Feb. 14
Dear OCEA member,
As you may know, on Feb. 2, OCEA filed a Step 1 grievance on behalf of OCEA members against SSA for failing to follow the language and intent of the CFS Caseload Management Forum language in the Community Services MOU. The County’s ongoing failure prevents OCEA from making progress in our effort to address your unmanageable caseloads and safety concerns. The grievance procedure is meant to hold the County accountable and is the official way for us to fundamentally change the way the Agency works with—and doesn’t work with—staff regarding caseloads, working conditions, employee treatment, and more. SSA, and Deputy Directors Kim Ragen and Scott Burdick, have denied the Step 1 grievance. OCEA is escalating the grievance to Step 2 for adjudication by the Chief of Employee Relations.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR ACTION! Please join us and invite your co-workers to a virtual Zoom discussion at 12 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, regarding escalation and potential immediate forthcoming actions. We will hold a live poll during the meeting. Your attendance is critical to help determine our next steps. Zoom meeting info is at the bottom of this email. You can click this link to join the meeting.
We also want to thank all who attended our Membership Meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 744 Eckhoff. At the meeting, OCEA Assistant General Manager Tim Steed, your OCEA Labor Relations Representatives, and OCEA Organizers were on hand to give a presentation to the packed auditorium about the negotiations process and our priorities for CFS during upcoming 2023 County Negotiations. Click here to view the short video we watched during the event.
During the meeting, we spoke about how this grievance and our strategies for negotiations are focused on improving your pay and caseloads. We also had a lengthy Q&A that was informative for all involved.
We appreciate your input and concerns. We hear you.
To build momentum from the meeting, as a first step, please click here to take the 2023 OCEA County Negotiations Survey. You can also apply to be a member of the negotiations team while taking the survey; the deadline for taking the survey is Feb. 23, and the deadline for applying for the OCEA Negotiations Team is today, Friday, Feb. 10. Remember, taking the survey is your best way to give us direct input on your priorities related to your wages, terms, and conditions of employment as we prepare to negotiate with the County once again.
OCEA IS YOU. It is your initiative, involvement, and energy that will help us reach our goals as a Union. If you are interested in finding out more about joining the Union Action Team or becoming an OCEA Steward, please contact Alisha Greene at agreene@ocea.org.
If you have specific questions for your OCEA Staff, please do not hesitate to reach out:
Labor Relations Representative Danielle Chau, dchau@ocea.org
Labor Relations Representative Charles Leon, cleon@ocea.org
Labor Relations Representative Kerensa Schupmann, kschupmann@ocea.org
Labor Relations Specialist Louie Gurrola, lgurrola@ocea.org
Senior Organizer Alisha Greene, agreene@ocea.org
In Solidarity,
OCEA
Publication Date: February 10, 2023
