The State Worker: Short-staffed DMV offices close; PECG files holiday grievance

The State Worker

Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers

October 12, 2009

Short-staffed DMV offices close; PECG files holiday grievance

We're hearing that at least four DMV offices closed today due to short staffing on what is undoubtedly the most controversial Columbus Day in California government history.

SEIU Local 1000 passed along unconfirmed reports that said offices in Watsonville, Compton, Oxnard and Hawthorne are closed. The union, which had told the 95,000 workers covers to stay home and observe the holiday, said that some other offices are open but struggling because of low staffing.

DPA spokeswoman Lynelle Jolley said that the administration had heard that three DMV field offices in Southern California and one the Gilroy area had closed today. Employees at closed locations who showed up were directed to work at nearby worksites. "Otherwise, it's been business as usual, except for a handful of offices," Jolley said.

DPA is working to confirm which offices closed. The administration says that the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger changed the law earlier this year and that Columbus Day isn't a paid day off any more.

Meanwhile, Professional Engineers in California Government filed a grievance over the elimination of Columbus Day and Lincoln's Birthday for members of Bargaining Unit 9.

Click here to read it. And this link
will download DPA's response.

About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

blog comments powered by Disqus