LAS VEGAS – Members of AFSCME Local 4041, who work for the state of Nevada, are celebrating a statewide grievance victory over changes to their schedule.
Last fall, management at various state agencies unilaterally implemented temporary schedule changes during weeks with a state-recognized holiday for workers on four day, 10-hours-a-day schedule. These changes forced employees to change their whole lives, including child or elder care, to accommodate for holidays.
AFSCME members argued this was against the holiday schedule provisions in their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the state and immediately filed a grievance.
“We addressed the paid holiday issue in our CBA, so management making even temporary scheduling changes without worker input goes against our CBA. We decided to file a grievance to fight for what we negotiated,” said Raymond Aikens, a developmental specialist at the Department of Health & Human Services’ Aging and Disability Services Division.
In January, a mediator decided in AFSCME’s favor, ruling that the state must follow the CBA and decide any temporary schedule changes by seniority.
“This is a victory for our right to a voice on the job,” said Aikens. “By holding the state accountable to our contract, they must now change their procedures to better align with what we negotiated in the CBA. This win makes our whole contract stronger and shows how having a union makes a difference.”
Some 20,000 state workers across Nevada won collective bargaining rights in 2019. Back then, it was the largest expansion of collective bargaining rights for state workers anywhere in the United States in 16 years. Since then, members of Local 4041 have made big gains at the bargaining table and in the legislature in their fight for better pay, working conditions and improved state services.