With nearly 20,000 members and 50 separate employers, SEIU 1021 always has something going on in the East Bay, and this holiday season is no exception.

Members at the Port of Oakland recently voted to ratify their new contract with an 86% YES vote. The three-year deal includes innovative COLA provisions tied to inflation, a new holiday for Juneteenth, a premium of nearly 10% for graveyard shift workers, and strong new disciplinary protections that allow workers to have written reprimands sealed and removed from their records.

At the same time, Alameda County members kicked off their contract bargaining campaign at more than a dozen sites across the county last week. They sported their purple shirts and showed how unified they are in their call to protect public services for the community. Check out more photos and a roundup of their current proposals here.

Unfortunately, not all our members are doing so well: The City of Hayward and Alameda Health System have both recently threatened layoffs, supposedly due to concerns with their budgets. 

What’s even worse is that Alameda Health System management will be delivering more than 200 layoff notices to SEIU Local 1021 members on Christmas Eve. 

The system is in budget currently and has not yet explained why cuts are necessary before the losses have been sustained.

These layoffs are system-wide, and will cut jobs including attending physicians, cafeteria workers, physician assistants, immunity health outreach workers, patient care assistants in the ICU, and many other positions that directly support the patients who depend on Alameda Health System. As Alameda County’s safety-net healthcare system, AHS serves an overwhelmingly Black and Brown, lower-income population which has no other healthcare options.

Veronica Palacios, an eligibility specialist at Oakland’s Wilma Chan Highland Hospital, said “We are shocked and appalled that AHS management would issue layoff notices on Christmas Eve. Not only are these cuts premature and unnecessary, we believe they are illegal, and we will pursue all available options to stop them. We will fight to keep every single job so that our community does not have to go without safety-net medical care.”

Cynthia Harris, a nurse and shop steward at Wilma Chan Highland Hospital, said:

I’m here today to talk about how AHS chose to give out pink slips for Christmas.

When we entered bargaining, our main goal was clear: to push back the layoff date and protect our members. But AHS came to the table unprepared. They brought no proposals, no meaningful information, and no real plan—other than telling us they were moving forward with sending out 60-day layoff notices on Christmas Eve.

Let that sink in. On Christmas Eve.

They gave barely any consideration to cost-saving measures that could have avoided layoffs altogether. We, on the other hand, came prepared. We proposed alternatives to layoffs—solutions that would protect workers while still addressing financial concerns.

AHS rejected those proposals. They told us this was the route they ‘had to take,’ even though they are still within budget for this fiscal year.

This decision was not about necessity. It was about choice.

And that choice shows a lack of respect for the workers who keep our hospitals running every single day

We deserve better. We deserve transparency, good-faith bargaining, and leadership that values its workforce—not pink slips wrapped up as holiday gifts.

SEIU 1021 members are committed to fighting back against these cruel cuts, so stay tuned to see how you can get involved and speak up for good union jobs!