Carrol Vaughan, chief operating officer for the San Diego Housing Commission,“More and more of our workers are commuting from as far away as Temecula [over 60 miles from the city of San Diego]. Houses under the $200,000 range are non-existent.”

Support Prop. 46

Union and Management Work Together for Affordable Housing

October 2002

Housing is so tight in the city of San Diego that even the workers at the Housing Commission are having a hard time. Carrol Vaughan, chief operating officer for the San Diego Housing Commission, is worried. “More and more of our workers are commuting from as far away as Temecula [over 60 miles from the city of San Diego]. Houses under the $200,000 range are non-existent,” she told the Dragon.

The commission has a worker-friendly, enlightened management that values the well-being of its workers. They are trying hard to find ways to leverage money to increase both the housing and rental stock, and for that reason they are actively encouraging people to vote for the housing bond measure, Proposition 46.

“I believe our employees are our best resource, and the union gives them a voice. We realize that they don’t always feel comfortable speaking out for themselves, and that is why they need an organization. Our staff are the ones that deal with the clients. They are on the front line. It is an increasingly difficult job, and we stress to all our managers the importance of getting input from the front lines and not just handing out edicts,” Vaughan states.

Local 535 field staff Ted Burnett acknowledged the open attitude of the commission’s management. “We recently met with personnel and human resources to discuss their plans to institute a new computer system. We told them they needed to train our members on how to use the system, and we don’t want people penalized who are having trouble adapting to the new system. I gave them feedback on some of the problems we have seen with the CWS/CMS child welfare computer system. We don’t want a repeat of that experience. I appreciated that they asked for our feedback to make things work rather than waiting until there is a problem.”

Improving the Pension Plan

One of the current issues the union is concerned with is moving the Housing Commission’s pension fund into a more stable pension plan. The commission is working with the union to get the city council to allow the commission’s workers to be part of the city’s pension fund.