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The story of just how PECG came to represent state engineers and related professionals (Unit 9) has been told many times. In short, in July 1963, engineers from the Division of Highways (later to become Caltrans) met in the basement of their District IV offices in San Francisco to adopt a written declaration of PECG’s purpose: “few of these items (outsourcing, pay and benefit issues)…can be accomplished on an individual basis. They require concerted collective effort. A formal organization is necessary. Your active participation is the only way we can get the kind of representation necessary to preserve, foster and maintain the identity and stature of the professional engineer in state service.”
What sometimes gets forgotten in the story of PECG’s creation is this: many of the founders in the summer of 1963 and in the years to follow, were supervisors and managers.
They were leaders in their respective departments around the state. They enjoyed the respect of the department higher ups and the rank and file employees who worked for them. They were in an ideal position to help create a new, independent organization in which members make decisions entirely dependent on what is best for state engineers and related professionals.
To their great credit, they knew that to get results, PECG needed to represent all state engineers – supervisors and rank and file employees – to bring the maximum “collective effort” to bear to address the problems they all faced.
That is why PECG, unlike most other state bargaining units, continues to represent, and deliver for, state supervisors and managers. And it has done so throughout our 60-year history!
PECG negotiates salary and benefits for supervisors and managers with the Governor’s Administration through the Meet and Confer process. Many of the benefits provided seniors mirror provisions received by Unit 9 rank and file members through collective bargaining. Others are exclusive to supervisory and managerial Unit 9 employees. Here are just a few of the benefits provided to Unit 9 supervisors and managers over the years:
Salary increases of 114% over the last 19 years.
Longevity pay differential starting at 2% at 17 years up to 5.5% at 20 years.
Geographic Pay Differential of $250 per month for those with worksites located in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.
Family Care Leave Benefits that mirrors paid family leave, but is provided at no cost.
Pay Differential 421 provides salaried supervisors and managers responding to declared emergencies with double time during the first two weeks of response and time-and-a-half for each week thereafter. The differential must be supported by impacted departments and approved by the Department of Finance.
Consolidated Benefits (or “CoBen”), the allowance to pay for health and dental, are generally considered the best in state service.
Eligibility to enroll in one of two enhanced dental plans.
Employer-paid term-life insurance policies – $25,000 in coverage for supervisors and $50,000 in coverage for managers – with no out-of-pocket costs.
An extra hour of vacation leave or annual leave (as applicable) per month.
Eligibility to enroll in an employee-paid long-term disability plan that provides a percentage of income after the first six months of a disability.
These gains reflect PECG’s dedication to supervisors and managers from the organization’s founding through today. In turn, over 60% of supervisors and managers are members. They understand that PECG delivers competitive pay, pension protection, affordable health care benefits, and protection from outsourcing for all state engineers and related classifications.