Social workers separation of services, 1967-1975
Scope and Contents
Comprises records created in the day-to-day running of the SSEU, including bulletins, flyers, press releases, and newsletters that provided regular updates to members on issues such as caseloads, salary negotiations, management-employee relations, suspensions, transfers and firings, SSEU elections, and grievance hearings. The bulk of the correspondence comprises Department of Social Services (DSS) inter-office memos dealing with departmental policies and procedures, and responding to worker grievances over suspensions and transfers, disagreements with supervisors, and general work conditions. Many of these memos are from Ronald H. Born in his role as General Manager for the DSS. Other correspondence is between the San Francisco Social Services Commission, the San Francisco Department of Social Services, and representatives of SSEU, in particular, Bruce Alpert, Stewart Serman, and Roger Altman, all one-time presidents of SSEU, as well as Peter Krynski, Grievance Coordinator. Meeting minutes, agendas, and notes were primarily generated from Social Services Commission meetings, SSEU Executive Committee meetings, SSEU Negotiating Committee meetings, and general membership meetings. Carton 3, folders 7-10 contain records related to welfare workers based at San Francisco General Hospital. The SSEU maintained records related to specific topics, such as the implementation by the DSS of the Old Age Security (OAS) conversion, a separation of services that resulted in eligibility workers being hired to determine a patient’s eligibility for cash and social services, a task previously under the domain of professional social workers (Carton 5, folders 4-7). Also well documented are the efforts by the SSEU to update departmental policies and procedures, in particular the way grievance communications are handled between the SSEU and the DSS. Carton 5, folders 8-10 contains records of individual grievance cases. SSEU-produced reports include A Study in Harassment: The Peter Krynski Case (Carton 1, folder 13); the 965 Report comprising articles submitted by employees at 965 Mission (Carton 1, folders 25-26); and The Civil Service Scene: How You Get Left Out (Carton 2, folders 1-7), a series of articles covering topics such as sick leave, grievance procedures, employee representation, and salaries.
Dates
- 1967-1975
Conditions Governing Access
Contains material restricted to protect the privacy of living individuals and to ensure confidential employment and personnel information. The following folders include restricted material: Carton 1, folder 1, closed until October 31, 2038 [redacted copy open for research]; Carton 4, folder 1, closed permanently [redacted copy open for research]; Carton 4, folder 7, closed until July 1, 2057; and Carton 4, folder 15, closed until March 31, 2070.
Extent
From the Collection: 6.25 Cubic Feet (5 cartons, 1 box)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Repository Details
Part of the Labor Archives and Research Center Repository
San Francisco State University
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco 94132-1722 USA
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu