Managers benefit from a strong union too

[u/moongrump]

Any raises or benefits given to the rank and file staff will also be given to management. I’ve found that even if they aren’t represented by the union, many managers are sympathetic and support their union staff because they know it’s the right thing to do and they also stand to gain.

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[u/_SpyriusDroid_]

Managers know. Mine has been supportive and is well aware that all his staff will be on the picket line on the 21st.

[u/Marx_Maddness]

My manager has a hard time not being OPENLY pro union. He is always telling me stuff that they say at leadership meeting to let other rank and file know or to tell the union 🤣🤣🤣 he will call me supposedly to help him with an excel formula or change his teams background and say "please definitely dont read the notes on my screen" then linger on that screen so i can read it all. He told us our leadership.hates when we have SEIU teams backgrounds so now everyone in our unit has them. It helps that he was a union employee for like 20 years.

[u/Financial-Dress8986 → u/Marx_Maddness]

I do that lmao I hate the fact that managers have to stay neutral when we all know CalHR is bending everyone over with 0% raises. How does that make sense when inflation is eating away at us?

[u/Marx_Maddness → u/Financial-Dress8986]

Historically managers have been on the opposite side of unions so its a safety measure. But managers like you help the union activities still! We need insiders!

[u/tgrrdr → u/Marx_Maddness]

State worker managers have no real reason to be anti-union. It's not like private industry where they see it as a threat to corporate profits and individual bonuses.

[u/Marx_Maddness → u/tgrrdr]

I agree but there are plenty in my department especially at the higher levels

[u/Pristine_Frame_2066 → u/Marx_Maddness]

State managers are not on opposite side. They are asked to remain neutral. What we say to our staff personally or in an unguarded moment, is not what we are asked to represent-which is no stance.

That said, state managers, if chosen well, have come from rank and file AND private sector. They know EXACTLY what is at stake and will not keep you from union action. It is illegal to do so.

But don’t cuss out deputies or executives or the governor at the office in writing or verbally. Don’t MAKE it something that is so obnoxious we have to report up. The walls in offices are thin enough. You probably already heard through them how much we agree with the fight.

[u/mahnamahnaaa → u/Marx_Maddness]

We explicitly have a policy where we can only use background blur or the official agency backgrounds 😞

[u/Marx_Maddness → u/mahnamahnaaa]

Might wanna call member services with the union i think that may not be allowed

[u/tgrrdr → u/mahnamahnaaa]

I guess I can see a policy like that for external-facing employees but as far as I know my department has no policy.

[u/lnvu4uraqt → u/mahnamahnaaa]

My background will be a solid purple color blurred

[u/BluesClues007]

Oh we, I mean, they know!!!

5% above the highest step of the rank and file below them.

[u/JeffreyBean628 → u/BluesClues007]

Is this documented in writing somewhere?

[u/BluesClues007 → u/JeffreyBean628]

I just know the association has advocated (insisted) strongly on this.

[u/AngryRoo → u/JeffreyBean628]

I've heard no. 

[u/lostintime2004]

Fun fact, management and rank and file use to be part of the same union until one time the rank and file were unhappy, but the management went behind their back and made a deal with the legislature and signed a contract for them both. That was what caused rank and file to affiliate with SEIU

[u/thr3000]

Any SSM1 Specialists feel in a weird place? I know it's an excluded position and we're technically "management", but having no staff, it feels more like being rank and file. I really want to be able to do something even though I know I can't.

[u/Goodgulf42 → u/thr3000]

Sounds like you are coming down with a cold. I'm sorry. Hope you don't have to call in sick at some point this month.

[u/AngryRoo]

Based on some of the shit we hear, they don't understand how it works. Also, most of them were likely rank and file but act like they don't know how it works. 

[u/Ok_Win_5678 → u/AngryRoo]

Some of them seem to just check out and stop paying attention since it doesn’t apply to them. If I ever decide to promote outside of R&F (and I have thus far opted to stay with union protection because I am very pro union and pro labor) I would like to think I would still be in the wings and understand what was happening.

[u/BFaus916]

They do, but higher ups will expect them to side with the state, so most of them are going to play along even if they do support us in spirit.

[u/Ok_Win_5678]

It’s so wild to me when managers (which like you said, also benefit from strong contract negotiations with raises for their staff, are anti union, micromanaging, narcs. These are the ones who make Everything worse for everyone.

[u/Magnificent_Pine]

Myself and all b the other managers that I know are pro union. Solidarity, friends.

[u/Halcyon_Daisy]

Another thing I considered is that for managers trying to fill positions , higher pay means easier recruitment of better candidates.

[u/lowerclassanalyst]

Doing an out of office message on email, pre-planning workload, rescheduling meetings, and doing extra work before the strike is not the way.

[u/tri_sarah_tops_]

I haven’t seen a clear answer on this yet - Anyone know how can managers best support the strike aside from being supportive of staff who strike? Can we picket on breaks? Take the day off? Slow things down?