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SF Members Take To Streets To Demand PPE
Since this pandemic began, SEIU 1021 members have been demanding universal testing and PPE to keep us safe while we do the critical work of caring for the public.
On Friday, April 24, over one hundred San Francisco city workers and allies wearing protective face masks caravanned from the REI parking lot on Brannan St. to the SF Emergency Operations Center at the Moscone Center (check out photos here). An hour after our caravan action, Mayor Breed announced the acquisition of 15 million pieces of PPE.
City workers’ demand: universal testing and protective equipment (PPE) for all employees at work of serving residents during this pandemic.
“We are caring for the sick, supporting San Francisco’s seniors, children and vulnerable populations, and helping people get where they need to go,” said Theresa Rutherford, VP of San Francisco. “Adequate PPE keeps us safer. Universal testing is needed to figure out where the virus is, who is positive, and where it is going, who has fought it off, and whether the San Francisco residents are gaining immunity.”
“Essential front line workers are risking their lives, so we can live ours. Without these workers, who are bravely doing their civil duties every single day are heroes. Their mission– to stop this virus from spreading,” said SEIU 1021 President Joseph Bryant.” We need to make sure they have the essential protections to beat this virus.”
After months of activism on the job, at City Hall, and an hour after this caravan action in the streets— SF city workers received one out of two demands to #ProtectAllWorkers. Mayor London Breed announced the acquisition of fifteen million pieces of PPE for frontline workers.
VICTORY: Livermore USD workers stay safe while continuing to serve their community
Thanks to an SEIU Local 1021 negotiated side letter agreement over PPE in response to the 2018 wildfires, the Livermore Unified School District was already equipped with the PPE to supply our frontline workers serving daily school breakfasts and lunches during their daily meal distribution period.
Student nutrition workers and custodians are working 2 hours, every other day while receiving full wages.
ICYMI: SEIU 1021 President Joseph Bryant gives COVID-19 update via Facebook Live
On Friday, April 10 SEIU 1021 President Joseph Bryant gave an update on Facebook Live detailing our union’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click here to watch the full video in case you missed it!
Tell Congress: #ProtectAllWorkers: put workers first with no blank checks for corporations
Congress has passed multiple bills in response to the COVID-19 crisis, but so far they have fallen short of providing the support we need. Frontline workers still lack protective equipment, sufficient sick leave and essential worker pay. Many of us are being laid-off and are unsure of how we’ll cover bills. There’s no real plan to protect our right to vote without risking our health. And on top of that, immigrant families have been left out entirely.
Meanwhile, companies are making out like bandits while our public services—like processing the millions of new unemployment claims—are on the cusp of running out of funding.
Join us in calling on Congress to put workers first with no blank checks for corporations.
Join our healthcare roundtable discussion on April 30
RSVP at seiu1021.org/roundtable.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, staff in healthcare settings have been working tirelessly to keep patients and our communities safe. This includes all workers that keep our hospitals and clinics running in this critical time. But that work comes with a lot of challenges.
That’s why, on April 30, SEIU 1021 healthcare members will host a roundtable discussion on Facebook Live.
This panel discussion will provide an excellent opportunity for healthcare workers to learn from fellow union members about how we’re fighting to protect our lives and the lives of our patients during this pandemic.
You can submit questions for our panel ahead of time by visiting seiu1021.org/askaquestion. You’ll also be able to interact with other SEIU 1021 members and our panel by utilizing the Facebook comments feature.
You don’t need to work in a healthcare setting to participate, and you don’t need to have a Facebook account to watch. If you do have Facebook, click here to RSVP.
Otherwise, just head to facebook.com/seiu1021 at 6:30 pm on April 23 to watch.
Hundreds of SEIU 1021 members participate in our first COVID-19 telephone town hall
On April 16, SEIU 1021 President Joseph Bryant led our first telephone town hall since the COVID-19 pandemic began. You can listen to a recording of the full town hall here.
President Bryant hosted a panel featuring member leaders Ashley Payne, Karla Faucett, and Brandon Dawkins, who discussed their challenges and victories during this crisis.
“We’re keeping up the pressure—keeping membership looped in and being really creative about our organizing since we can’t show up at the Board of Supervisors chambers as usual or picket in person anymore,” said Ashley Payne, SEIU 1021 Chapter Vice President in Contra Costa County.
SEIU 1021 RN Industry Chair Sasha Cuttler: “We can’t flatten the curve if we are sick”
This week, SEIU Local 1021 RN Industry Chair Sasha Cuttler published an op-ed in the San Francisco Examiner detailing the experiences of him and his colleagues in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The decreasing trend in new cases in SF continues to give hope that the first wave of infections may be decreasing. Let’s flatten the curve all the way by giving all workers the PPE and the right training for the job. And making sure that there are more than enough staff to do the work while the sick ones recover,” Sasha said.
Sasha shares from his background as a nurse in the United States’ first HIV/AIDS ward unit at San Francisco General Hospital. “Now as then, we find ourselves missing the many patients and colleagues who left us behind all at once,” Sasha reflects in his op-ed.
Join the SF Caravan to #ProtectAllWorkers
On Friday, April 24, join San Francisco city workers on a caravan from the REI parking lot on Brannon to the SF Emergency Operations Center at the Moscone Center. We are demanding universal testing and protective equipment (PPE) for all front line employees doing the important work of serving SF residents during this pandemic.
At the Moscone Center, we will park in front and along the building. We’ll honk and chant with our windows rolled down to show support for 1021 members across the city and demand proper PPE and testing.
Caravan Timeline
- 11:30 AM – Meet at REI parking lot 840 Brannan Street to prepare
- 12:00 PM – Caravan to the Emergency Operations Center at the Moscone Center at 747 Howard.
- 12:45 PM – Action ends.
This caravan is a CAR ACTION. Participants are expected to stay in their vehicles for the duration of the action. We will be observing social distancing and safety precautions. Everyone should bring a face covering.
SEIU 1021 Adjuncts at SF Art Institute send HR360 over 5,000 N95 masks
“When we stand united, the kindness that we share grows bigger, and we grow stronger,” said Nade Bozhinova, Dental Assistant at HealthRIGHT 360
Talk about solidarity in action—did you hear about the 5,000 N95 masks that SEIU 1021 members from the SF Art Institute donated to members at one of our newest Chapters, HealthRIGHT360?
This week, SF Art Institute adjunct faculty donated over 5,000 N95 masks to HealthRIGHT360 where they are desperately needed to protect frontline health workers. A huge thank you to the SFAI chapter who are facing layoff notices and are now fighting for their jobs, but are still practicing union solidarity to protect workers and our communities.
“The crisis of PPE shortages at our clinics has been averted thanks to solidarity by 1021 members at SF Art Institute,” said Julia Klems, HepC Care Coordinator at HealthRIGHT 360.
On April 10, join 1021 President Joseph Bryant Live on Facebook
I’d like to invite SEIU 1021 members to join me the evening of Friday, April 10 on the SEIU 1021 Facebook page, where I’ll be giving a live address and update on the COVID-19 pandemic at 6 pm.
You can RSVP for the event here. We’ll be sharing the livestream in this Facebook event as well as on our main page. We’ll also be recording the address to post on our website afterwards for those of you who may not have Facebook.
Over the last month, we have seen the outbreak of a global pandemic that is unprecedented in most of our lifetimes. I know how the uncertainty of our situation has left many of us feeling scared and unsure of what the future holds. But I am proud of how SEIU 1021 leaders and staff have risen to the challenge, and we are working tirelessly to protect the health, safety, and economic wellbeing of members during this time.
I’m looking forward to sharing the details of that work with you all tomorrow evening and hope that you’ll join us.