Justice Can't Be Temporary

State Assembly passes bill to halt use of temps for permanent work

By Thomas Dewar

There are thousands of temp workers in public agencies across the State of California, working in virtually every department of government, many doing exactly the same work as permanent employees without receiving any of the same benefits.

“This is very much an issue of social justice and civil rights,” said SEIU 1021 President Damita Davis-Howard, noting that the state’s temporary workers are disproportionately women (75%) and people of color (76%).  “One third of them have been ‘temporary’ for five years or longer, and over half of them have no health insurance. We cannot and will not allow this to continue.”

SEIU Supports Rights for Temps

That’s why SEIU is supporting AB 1496, a bill by Assemblymember Sandré Swanson that would stop the ongoing abuse of temp workers in cities and counties throughout California. The bill closes loopholes which currently enable cities and counties to hire ‘temporary’ workers for jobs that would otherwise be performed by permanent employees.

The bill passed the State Assembly on May 29 and is scheduled for a vote in the Senate on July 11.

“It’s an issue of fairness,” declared Swanson, chair of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee. “If a worker is doing a job long term, a job that is for all intents and purposes permanent, that worker ought to be classified as a permanent employee and have all the rights and benefits that go along with that. Classifying workers as temporary for years and years to avoid paying benefits is unfair.”

A Personal Issue

The issue is personal for 1021 Member Organizing Chair Mary Sanders, who successfully led a similar fight to stem temp abuse in the San Francisco Unified School District, where she works as a cook manager in Student Nutrition. “It took us many years and multiple contracts to get health benefits for regular employees wrongly classified as ‘temps’,” Sanders recalled.

“People who work hard every day deserve to be respected, not cheated. I feel an obligation to help our brothers and sisters in cities and counties win what we won in the SFUSD last year.”

Fighting Temp Abuse Everywhere

Carolyn John (pictured) is a steward and 31-year employee of the City of San Rafael library whose years of advocacy on this issue helped pave the way for it showing up on the political radar in Sacramento, where she has visited repeatedly to lobby lawmakers. Her efforts and those of her co-workers also succeeded in substantially reducing the age-old practice of using temps at the library.

“This is a big step for the Library,” John said. “I’m glad the legislature is taking up this issue so every bargaining unit doesn’t have to fight this battle individually in the future.”

“We’ve made substantial progress, but we’re not home yet,” Davis-Howard explained. “We must remain vigilant and continue pressuring our elected officials to do the right thing as we take our fight into the Senate.”