*Before or during the meeting state: “I request to have Union representation. Without representation present, I choose not to participate in this discussion.”* If the manager denies the request, and continues to ask questions, that is an unfair labor practice and you have the right to refuse to answer.
*Before or during the meeting state: “I request to have Union representation. Without representation present, I choose not to participate in this discussion.”* If the manager denies the request, and continues to ask questions, that is an unfair labor practice and you have the right to refuse to answer.
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*For more information on your rights and benefits, please visit afscmelocal800.org or contact Gary Guthman at (213) 248-0381 or [email protected]*
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*For more information on your rights and benefits, please explore this website, write us at [email protected].com, or contact Gary Guthman at (213) 248-0381 or [email protected]*
/*Note added April 2, 2020: The text below begins "When called into a meeting with management ... " But, for the immediate future, no one is being called into a physical office for a face-to-face meeting with management. Nonetheless, it's important that you know your rights to union representation. Should someone in management begin a discussion with you (on the phone or video-conference), and you have reason to believe that the discussion could lead to discipline, you have the right to request a three-way conversation with a union representative present.*/
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/*The text below is still valid, in an adopted-for-coronavirus-era manner.*/
When called into a meeting with management, you have the legal right to request representation if you believe the discussion could lead to discipline.
When called into a meeting with management, you have the legal right to request representation if you believe the discussion could lead to discipline.
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*Before or during the meeting state: “I request to have Union representation. Without representation present, I choose not to participate in this discussion.”* If the manager denies the request, and continues to ask questions, it commits an unfair labor practice and you have the right to refuse to answer.
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*Before or during the meeting state: “I request to have Union representation. Without representation present, I choose not to participate in this discussion.”* If the manager denies the request, and continues to ask questions, that is an unfair labor practice and you have the right to refuse to answer.
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*For more information on your rights and benefits, please visit afscmelocal800.org or contact Gary Guthman at (213) 248-0381 or [email protected]
*/Note added April 2, 2020: As we all know, the spread of the coronavirus has been rapid, and while it felt like we were in the midst of the pandemic */when we sent out our first COVID-19-related eblast /* two weeks ago, on March 19 -- much has developed since./*
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*/Note added April 2, 2020: As we all know, the spread of the coronavirus has been rapid, and while it felt like we were in the midst of the pandemic */when we sent out our first COVID19-related eblast /* two weeks ago, on March 19 -- much has developed since. (And more will have developed, by whenever you are reading this.)
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/*Nonetheless, the resources in the eblast remain pertinent, despite the rapidly-developing situation. In addition, you can consult the COVID-19/ Keeping Los Angeles Safe [1] page from the City of Los Angeles /*and the*/ /*California Department of Public Health COVID-19 Updates page. [2] */*/*/The Los Angeles County Dept. of Mental Health has a page devoted to COVID-19 Mental Health Resources [3]./*
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*//*For information on sick leave, family medical leave, and unemployment insurance, c*/onsult our pages on /**/the/ Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act [4]**/// and the/ Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. [5]*/*
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/*Nonetheless, the resources in the March 19 eblast, below, remain pertinent. In addition, you can consult the COVID-19/ Keeping Los Angeles Safe [1] page from the City of Los Angeles /*and the*/ /*California Department of Public Health COVID-19 Updates page. [2] */*/*/These will have the latest news. The Los Angeles County Dept. of Mental Health has a page devoted to COVID-19 Mental Health Resources [3]./*
On 4/1/2020, all Nevadans were ordered to Stay at Home by emergency resolution by Governor Sisolak. Nevadans are authorized to continue patronizing essential businesses, reporting to work as an essential worker, and participate in outdoor activities so long as they practice aggressive social distancing.
Closures for all non-essential businesses, including some state offices, has been extended to April 30.
For staff who work at the 1,500-patient maximum security hospital, which houses a number of sexually violent offenders—most of whom are not yet safe to enter the community—there’s no such thing as letting your guard down. Seventy-five percent of Coalinga’s patients have committed sexually violent crimes and 25% are patients with mental disorders.
For staff who work at the 1,500-patient maximum security hospital, which houses a number of sexually violent offenders—most of whom are not yet safe to enter the community—there’s no such thing as letting your guard down. Seventy-five percent of Coalinga’s patients have committed sexually violent crimes and 25% are patients with mental disorders.
Now, however, the coronavirus pandemic is threatening the delicate balance that Kathleen Bowsher, a rehabilitation therapist and member of Local 2620, relies on.
Now, however, the coronavirus pandemic is threatening the delicate balance that Kathleen Bowsher, a rehabilitation therapist and member of Local 2620, relies on.
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Her role—working with patients to focus on impulse control, anger management, and to develop coping skills to process their trauma and mental illness—has been rendered even more challenging.
Her role—working with patients to focus on impulse control, anger management, and to develop coping skills to process their trauma and mental illness—has been rendered even more challenging.
Still, she and others at Coalinga State Hospital are trying to run programs normally, though that requires a new level of vigilance during the coronavirus pandemic. Social distancing policies have been instituted for patients and staff. Group programs are no longer offered, only programs for small groups.
Still, she and others at Coalinga State Hospital are trying to run programs normally, though that requires a new level of vigilance during the coronavirus pandemic. Social distancing policies have been...
Even a normal day at Coalinga State Hospital in Coalinga is a delicate balancing act.
For staff who work at the 1,500-patient maximum security hospital, which houses a number of sexually violent offenders—most of whom are not yet safe to enter the community—there’s no such thing as letting your guard down. Seventy-five percent of Coalinga’s patients have committed sexually violent crimes and 25% are patients with mental disorders.
Now, however, the coronavirus pandemic is threatening the delicate balance that Kathleen Bowsher, a rehabilitation therapist and member of Local 2620, relies on.
Her role—working with patients to focus on impulse control, anger management, and to develop coping skills to process their trauma and mental illness—has been rendered even more challenging.
Still, she and others at Coalinga State Hospital are trying to run programs normally, though that requires a new level of vigilance during the coronavirus pandemic. Social distancing policies have been instituted for patients and staff. Group programs are no longer offered, only programs for small groups.
Staff members are having their temperatures checked before they enter the facility, but it’s not a perfect system. Bowsher says that some staff who traveled outside the country recently and came to work before the COVID-19 measures were put in place were sent home out of an abundance of caution.
Bowsher knows that if COVID-19 were to spread throughout the facility, it would be devastating to both staff and offenders. So far, there haven’t been any confirmed cases at her hospital, but, Bowsher notes, there has also been little testing to date.
Mixed messages from Gov. Gavin Newsom, state agencies and her supervisors add to the anxiety. While Newsom has urged at-risk populations to stay home, doing so is easier said than done. Supervisors are telling workers that they would have to use all of their paid time off or produce a doctor’s note if staff members want to take off work.
“You need to have a bench, a Team B of workers,” says Bowsher. “For an institution like mine, you need to have clearance. You need to have background checks. It takes months. If we all get sick, we still have 1,500 patients who need care.”
Many of the patients at Coalinga State Hospital have preexisting conditions, making them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Were one of the patients to get sick, finding a suitable hospital to treat them in the small community, where the nearest hospital is 45 miles away, and find adequate personnel to transport them, would be chilling prospects.
“Given our population of sexually violent predators, when we take people out, they need to be in cuffs with a police escort,” says Bowsher. “If any of those guys need to go to the emergency room, think of the additional strain both on the forensic community and the medical community.”
