Caltrans has issued a correction to Thursday's memo that had indicated employees represented by SEIU Local 1000 would be subject to furlough until union members ratify a new contract.
"The Department of Administration (DPA) has indicated that for employees in bargaining units with a new contract or one in the works (applicable to Caltrans include (sic) BUs 1,4, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 21) and excluded employees, furloughs are over," wrote Caltrans Deputy Director Cris Rojas, in this e-mail sent to employees just after noon today. "We very much regret the confusion over this issue."
Rojas' e-mail corrects one sent by Caltrans Chief Deputy Director Malcolm Dougherty that had said workers covered by Local 1000 could be furloughed until the union ratifies its new labor deal with the Schwarzenegger administration. The deadline for submitting ballots is Nov. 8 with a tally likely announced that evening or the next day.
After the Dougherty e-mail hit, confused department employees fired off angry e-mails to The State Workers, upset that Caltrans was contradicting what the union and the Department of Personnel Administration had said: October is the last furlough month for the 95,000 employees the local represents. Click here for what we reported about the mixup.
Caltrans employees in bargaining units without contracts are still subject to furloughs, Rojas' e-mail says.
Worth noting: If voting members reject the deal, the Schwarzenegger administration would have plenty of time to direct departments to continue furloughs for employees represented by the local, since the cutoff date for payroll changes is Nov. 18.
A "no" vote by the majority of SEIU members who cast ballots also would mean the union and the (Schwarzenegger? Brown? Whitman?) administration would have to return to the bargaining table.
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