SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Five months ago, members of AFSCME Local 2620, the union representing therapists and social workers in California state government, received preloaded $25 debit cards in the mail.
Each came with a note: “This gift is from President Shukimba Carlis in appreciation of all that you do.”
The gesture, proposed by Carlis two months earlier, has roiled the union’s leadership. Her notes taking credit for the cards — paid for with about $102,000 in union funds — further inflamed divisions, with some on the board of directors accusing her of using them to advance a re-election campaign.
