A do-over at SEIU Local 1000 gets a new result: State workers vote ‘yes’ on contract

A group of workers within California state government’s largest union voted to approve a contract in a second vote last week, reversing a previous ‘no’ vote.

The vote count in the SEIU Local 1000 contract ratification vote was announced Sunday. The unit of workers who voted — a collection of construction and agricultural inspectors, lab assistants and others — approved the contract by 72 percent to 28 percent vote, according to an announcement on Local 1000’s website.

The vote means the roughly 2,800 workers the union represents in the unit will get a 7 percent raise over three years, a $3,100 per year health insurance stipend and a range of special raises for specific job classifications.

Union leaders scheduled the re-vote after the group, known as Bargaining Unit 11, rejected the contract early this month in a vote 52 percent to 48 percent.

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Leaders said the close result, combined with misinformation they said was circulated, warranted a re-vote.

A group of transportation engineering technicians within the unit were thought to be the driving force behind the no vote. The technicians, many of whom feel they have been underpaid for years, wanted a special salary increase.

The re-vote took place last week at work sites around the state. Union representatives called and urged members to get out and vote in favor of the contract, warning them they risked missing out on its pay raises if they voted no.

Unit 11 was the only unit to vote no among the nine units Local 1000 represents. The union represents about 100,000 workers.