State Workforce
State Workforce

Bargaining Unit Profiles

Over 200,000 people work for a State of California department or agency (other than a university). More than 80% of these employees are represented by one of the state’s 21 bargaining units in the collective bargaining process. The rest are excluded from the collective bargaining because they are managers, supervisors, or employees who assist management develop  employee compensation policies. Below, we describe the types of employees in the state’s 21 bargaining units.

 

 

  • Bargaining Unit 1: Administrative, Financial, and Staff Services
  • Union: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
  • Percentage of Workforce: 22.5%
  • Number of Positions: 50,279
  • Profile: Unit 1 is the largest of the state’s 21 bargaining units. The employees perform many different types of jobs across numerous state departments. These employees include accounting officers, auditors, analysts, employment program representatives at the Employment Development Department, disability evaluators at the Department of Health and Human Services, information technology analysts, and other professional classifications.
  • Bargaining Unit 2: Attorneys and Hearing Officers
  • Union: California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges, and Hearing Officers in State Employment (CASE)
  • Percentage of Workforce: 1.7%
  • Number of Positions: 3,788
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 2 are state-employed attorneys, administrative law judges, and other legal professionals who provide legal expertise for the state in many departments. The Department of Justice employs about a quarter of all Unit 2 employees.
  • Bargaining Unit 3: Professional Educators and Librarians
  • Union: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
  • Percentage of Workforce: 0.7%
  • Number of Positions: 1,626
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 3 are teachers, education specialist, and librarians in state institutions. About two-thirds of these employees work for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Almost 30 percent of these employees work for the Department of Education at one of the department’s schools or diagnostic centers.
  • Bargaining Unit 4: Office and Allied
  • Union: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
  • Percentage of Workforce: 11.1%
  • Number of Positions: 24,788
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 4 work in many state departments in a variety of classifications. These employees include office technicians, Department of Motor Vehicle field representatives, office assistants, and program technicians. About half of these employees work at the Department of Motor Vehicles, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Franchise Tax Board, the Employment Development Department, or the Board of Equalization.
  • Bargaining Unit 5: Highway Patrol
  • Union: California Association of Highway Patrolmen (CAHP)
  • Percentage of Workforce: 2.7%
  • Number of Positions: 6,129
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 5 are highway patrol officers employed by the California Highway Patrol (CHP). CHP officers patrol highways, enforce motor vehicle laws, and protect state officials, visiting dignitaries, and state property.
  • Bargaining Unit 6: Corrections
  • Union: California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA)
  • Percentage of Workforce: 11.9%
  • Number of Positions: 26,699
  • Profile: Unit 6 is the second largest of the state’s 21 bargaining units. Most employees represented by Unit 6 work for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as correctional officers. These officers confine and supervise felons within the state’s prison system. Unit 6 also includes parole officers who supervise prisoners’ reentry to society.
  • Bargaining Unit 7: Protective Services and Public Safety
  • Union: California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA)
  • Percentage of Workforce: 3.3%
  • Number of Positions: 7,359
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 7 protect state lands and buildings, issue licenses or permits, conduct investigations, and, in some cases, arrest individuals. These employees work in many departments. Among the largest classifications are California Highway Patrol dispatcher, Department of Motor Vehicles licensing-registration examiner, Department of State Hospitals police officer, and park ranger.
  • Bargaining Unit 8: Firefighter
  • Union: CDF Firefighters, CAL FIRE Local 2881
  • Percentage of Workforce: 2.1%
  • Number of Positions: 4,614
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 8 are state-employed firefighters. Almost all of these employees work for the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). The largest classifications are fire captain, fire apparatus engineer, and firefighter II.
  • Bargaining Unit 9: Professional Engineers
  • Union: Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG)
  • Percentage of Workforce: 4.5%
  • Number of Positions: 10,107
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 9 are professional engineers who design and oversee the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, buildings, dams, and other infrastructure projects throughout the state. About two-thirds of these employees work for the Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
  • Bargaining Unit 10: Professional Scientific
  • Union: California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS)
  • Percentage of Workforce: 1.3%
  • Number of Positions: 2,833
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 10 are professional scientists who work in many state departments. More than one-half of these employees work for either the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Water Resources, or the Water Resources Control Board. Among the largest classifications are environmental scientist, integrated waste management specialist, and hazardous substance scientist.
  • Bargaining Unit 11: Engineering and Scientific Technicians
  • Union: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
  • Percentage of Workforce: 1.4%
  • Number of Positions: 3,022
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 11 are engineering and scientific technicians employed across many state departments. The largest classifications include California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) engineering technician and Fish and Wildlife scientific aid. About two-thirds of these employees work for either the Department of Fish and Wildlife or Caltrans.
  • Bargaining Unit 12: Craft and Maintenance
  • Union: International Union of Operating Engineers
  • Percentage of Workforce: 4.9%
  • Number of Positions: 11,061
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 12 operate and maintain state equipment, facilities, and roads. Nearly two-thirds of these employees work for either the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) or the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Among the largest classifications are Caltrans equipment operators and highway maintenance worker.
  • Bargaining Unit 13: Stationary Engineer
  • Union: International Union of Operating Engineers
  • Percentage of Workforce: 0.4%
  • Number of Positions: 853
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 13 maintain and operate heating, cooling, water, wastewater, and other major mechanical systems at state facilities. Nearly half of these employees work for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Among the largest classifications are stationary engineer and water and wastewater plant supervisor.
  • Bargaining Unit 14: Printing and Allied Trades
  • Union: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
  • Percentage of Workforce: 0.2%
  • Number of Positions: 388
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 14 include printing trades specialists, graphic designers, and bookbinders. While some of these employees work as printers and graphic artists in various departments, most work for the Department of General Services at the Office of State Publishing where the state budget, bills and laws, and other state documents are printed.
  • Bargaining Unit 15: Allied Services
  • Union: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
  • Percentage of Workforce: 2.1%
  • Number of Positions: 4,606
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 15 include custodians employed by the Department of General Services who work in various state buildings, laundry workers, supervising cooks, and food services workers in state prisons and other state institutions. More than half of these employees work for the Department of State Hospitals, the Department of General Services, or the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
  • Bargaining Unit 16: Physicians, Dentists, and Podiatrists
  • Union: Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD)
  • Percentage of Workforce: 0.7%
  • Number of Positions: 1,565
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 16 are state physicians, surgeons, and psychiatrists who work in institutionalized settings, such as prisons and state hospitals. Nearly three-fourths of these employees work for either the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the Department of State Hospitals.
  • Bargaining Unit 17: Registered Nurses
  • Union: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
  • Percentage of Workforce: 2.3%
  • Number of Positions: 5,215
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 17 include state-employed registered nurses who work in state prisons and state hospitals as well as Department of Health and Human Services nurse evaluators who inspect facilities, and nurse consultants who oversee special programs.
  • Bargaining Unit 18: Psychiatric Technicians
  • Union: California Association of Psychiatric Technicians (CAPT)
  • Percentage of Workforce: 2.8%
  • Number of Positions: 6,206
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 18 are psychiatric technicians, employees who provide behavioral and psychiatric nursing care to persons in state institutions. Nearly 90 percent of these employees work at institutions administered either by the Department of State Hospitals or the Department of Developmental Services. These institutions generally are 24-hour operations.
  • Bargaining Unit 19: Health and Social Services/Professional
  • Union: American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
  • Percentage of Workforce: 2.2%
  • Number of Positions: 4,990
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 19 are health and social services professionals, such as psychologists, rehabilitation therapists, pharmacists, adoption specialists, community care licensing analysts, social workers, dieticians, and prison chaplains. Approximately three-fifths of these employees work for either the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the Department of State Hospitals.
  • Bargaining Unit 20: Medical and Social Services
  • Union: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
  • Percentage of Workforce: 2.4%
  • Number of Positions: 5,330
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 20 include various medical and social services specialists who work in state prisons, veteran’s homes, developmental centers, and state hospitals. The largest Unit 20 classifications include licensed vocational nurse, self-help sponsor, dental assistant, certified nursing assistant, and pharmacy technician.
  • Bargaining Unit 21: Educational Consultants and Library
  • Union: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
  • Percentage of Workforce: 0.2%
  • Number of Positions: 544
  • Profile: Employees represented by Unit 21 are educational consultants who work for state educational programs within the California Department of Education, or other non-institutional settings. The largest Unit 21 classifications include education programs consultant, special education consultant, and education fiscal services consultant.
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The content on this webpage reflects the information available to our office at the time it was published. It is periodically updated as new information becomes available.

LAO Staff Contacts
Nick Schroeder
(916) 319-8314
Public Employment, CalPERS, and Elections
 
Carolyn Chu
(916) 319-8326
Chief Deputy Legislative Analyst