Jobs in question amid union dispute with California prison agency
A Roseville nonprofit said this week that dozens of janitorial workers are at risk of layoff at a prison medical facility in Vacaville, following a yearslong dispute with a state employees’ union.
Pride Industries, which has held the cleaning services contract at the facility since 2019, notified workers in late April that layoffs could be on the horizon.
The issue was raised by a union that contends that the workers should be on the state’s payroll and covered by a labor contract. The state agency overseeing prison health care argued that it can’t find civil servants to perform the work.
Pride Industries coordinates job opportunities for people with barriers to employment, and said in a statement that many of the workers at the Vacaville site have disabilities, including service-disabled veterans.
In its notice to workers, Pride Industries said it was “cautiously optimistic” that it would receive a contract extension. But without a new agreement, it would be forced to cease operations and lay off 58 workers at the Vacaville site.
California Correctional Health Care Services did not respond to questions Wednesday, about whether it was contemplating a contract extension.
In a separate prison contract, also set to expire June 30, the state selected a new provider for substance abuse recovery services in 10 correctional facilities, an agreement that currently employs 175 workers.
‘A model that works’
For years, Service Employees International Union Local 1000 has opposed the agreement between Pride Industries and CCHCS. The latest iteration of CCHCS’ $32 million contract has Pride Industries providing cleaning services for the Psychiatric Inpatient Program at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.
The state’s largest public sector union has maintained that the “environmental service” positions, which involve cleaning and disinfecting prison facilities, should be civil services jobs — not contracted work.
The California government code allows departments to contract out public service work, but only under certain conditions. The union has argued the contract does not meet the requirements and janitorial and custodial jobs should be held by state employees.
Anica Walls, the president of SEIU Local 1000, added that employees with disabilities, like many of those that Pride Industries prioritizes in hiring, would be better served in a union-protected job.
Pride Industries maintained that its Vacaville employees benefit from the organization’s employment practices.
“We’re not just talking about jobs — we’re talking about a model that works, one that empowers people with disabilities and delivers high-quality services to the state,” Jeff Dern, president and CEO of Pride Industries, said in a statement.
The union filed a formal complaint with the State Personnel Board years ago to stop CCHCS from relying on Pride Industries to staff the California Medical Facility.
In May 2023, the personnel board’s executive officer, Suzanne Ambrose, agreed with the union and found the contract between Pride Industries and CCHCS was unlawful. The department had not taken meaningful steps to fill vacant positions that could be held by state employees, Ambrose said.
“This isn’t a new problem — it’s a long-standing failure to act,” Walls said in a statement.
But in the years since, that contract has been extended several times because CCHCS has not been able to recruit enough employees to fill the positions.
Additionally, a decades-old receivership over CCHCS requires the state to provide a certain level of medical care. Terminating the sanitation contract could result in a lapse in the quality of care, which could prolong the receivership, Ambrose wrote in a August 2024 letter extending the agreement until February 2025.
When that deadline approached, Pride Industries issued a layoff notice for 60 employees in January. But, again, the contract was extended, staving off terminations.
The current contract, which took effect in January 2023, is set to expire June 30.
“We urge state leaders to step in now, extend this contract, and protect a program that represents California’s best values,” Dern said in a statement.
As of Wednesday, a CCHCS spokesperson said the contract expires at the end of next month but did not respond to questions about whether the agency is considering another extension.
Transition health care contractors
Separately, a San Rafael-based nonprofit, Center Point, notified the state this week of a change in contractors for prison health care services that employ 175 workers at 10 prison facilities across the state.
Center Point CEO Maurice Lee said Wednesday that historically when such an agreement changes hands, the new contractor often employs many of the previous organization’s staff.
There is an industry shortage of substance abuse counselors, he said, and a shortage of those willing to work in prisons. Plus, he added, the employees in those roles have already passed background checks.
Center Point, he said, also has some positions available in its community programs, for people who want to stay on with the nonprofit.
The new contractor, Amity Foundation, pledged to make the change as seamless as possible.
“We understand these contract transitions can be challenging, and while we’re working with a tight schedule, we are committed to bringing as many qualified staff as possible into the Amity family,” Amity Foundation CEO Doug Bond said in a statement Wednesday. “We always aim to make this transition smooth and supportive, minimizing disruptions for everyone involved.”
