NEWS

ACSS leader re-elected president of Nursing Board

ACSS Vice President of Membership Development Todd D'Braunstein has been re-elected to a third consecutive term as president of the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, on which he has served since 2010.

D'Braunstein has worked in multiple positions at Patton State Hospital since 2009, including program assistant and unit supervisor. D'Braunstein also held various positions - including unit supervisor, psychiatric technician instructor and senior psychiatric technician - at Patton from 1997 to 2005.

He was a crisis team member at Tri-City Mental Health Center from 1995 to 1996 and a psychiatric technician at Lanterman Developmental Center from 1993 to 1995.

D'Braunstein has been an ACSS member since 2005.

Little Hoover: State still not competitive

A report released on Feb. 27 by the Little Hoover Commission has detailed key areas that have fallen behind in Gov. Brown's reorganization effort, including the State's continuing recruitment and retention issues.

Though the Commission have covered the issue of salary compaction and its negative impact on retaining a skilled workforce, this report focuses instead on maze-like hiring practices, excess classifications, and lateral transfers.

Though the Commission's report finds many areas that are still in need of improvement after the merger of DPA and SPB into CalHR, special note is made of CalHR's expanded training efforts and successful physical merger.

Read the full report for additional details.

Sudden change in CalHR leadership

Former CalHR Director Julie Chapman (left) and Acting CalHR Director Richard Gillihan

CalHR Director Julie Chapman will be retiring immediately, effective as of close of business Friday, Feb. 28th, as announced in a press release on Feb. 27th by CalGovOpps Secretary Marybel Batjer. Deputy Director Howard Schwartz will be stepping down as well.

Department of Finance Program Budget Manager Richard Gillihan will step in as acting director of CalHR. CalHR Labor Relations Assistant Deputy Director Pam Manwiller will act as interim deputy director.

As excluded employees rely on the Legislature and CalHR to set their compensation and working conditions, any time there is a shift in leadership we are presented with the potential for new gains and new losses.

ACSS will continue working with our existing and new contacts at CalHR to maintain and improve their response to excluded employee needs throughout this transition.

SCIF responds to assault

In response to a shooting involving a supervisor in Riverside, SCIF has dispatched CHP officers to their locations in Riverside, Glendale, Monterey Park, and Santa Ana.

SCIF has confirmed with ACSS that every effort will be made to provide access to counseling services to employees in Southern California via the free Employee Assistance Program.

If you are contacted by the media regarding this incident, SCIF has asked that you direct them to SCIF Communications Director Gina Simons.

If you have concerns about this incident please contact ACSS Senior Labor Relations Representative Nellie D. Lynn at nlynn@calcsea.org

Questions about your Lobby Day registration?

If you registered for Lobby Day, you should have received a confirmation email from us within a few minutes, containing all the details of your registration.

If for some reason you never received your confirmation email - or received an email with incorrect information - please check your spam folder then call ACSS HQ at (800) 624-2137 ASAP to let us know.

We'll see you at the training on March 11th!

We've moved!

ACSS has relocated to new offices. We're still within the historic Golden1 Building, but we've moved into a larger space to accomodate our growing organization.

Our new address is:

ACSS
1108 O St
Suite 400
Sacramento, CA 95814

Please update your address books accordingly.

CCHCS surveying all medical care staff

California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) has announced that they will be conducting a "Patient Safety Culture Survey" of all medical care staff, including mental health and dental care.

Per CCHCS, the survey should run through March 7, 2014.

If you have any concerns regarding this survey, please direct them to ACSS Senior Labor Relations Representative Nellie D. Lynn at nlynn@calcsea.org

Did you register for Lobby Day yet?

The deadline to register for our annual lobbying event is drawing near.

We'll provide accomodations, training, and even reimburse ACSS members who wish to attend and register prior to the February 20th deadline.

If you're ready to take a stand for better salaries, benefits, and working conditions for state supervisors, managers, and confidential employees, this is a great way to get involved.

Long Term Disability premiums drop

CalHR has released an official PML detailing rate drops across the board for Long Term Disability Insurance Program for excluded employees.

The PML notes that the premium rate reduction - effective April 1, 2014 - will not affect the insurance benefits, which will stay the same.

See the full PML for the new rates and additional information.

Stand for issues and candidates that benefit you

Are you tired of hearing negative spin about state employees from elected officials?

Are you tired of seeing your livelihood thrown under the bus by one attack after another at the polls?

Now you can be part of the solution from the comfort of your own desk in just 30 seconds.

By donating as little as $2 a month to the ACSS PAC with our online form, you can pool your resources with thousands of other state supervisors, managers, and confidential employees to support candidates and issues that will help improve your working conditions, your benefits, and your compensation.