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Over the last several years, we have seen attacks on workers’ rights across the country. The victories we secure on the streets and at the bargaining table are directly linked to the ballot box. The gains we make are under siege by management teams, often elected public officials, trying to use our country’s economic and public health crises as reasons to take away our hard-earned wages and benefits.

Most SEIU 1021 members are in the public sector, working for cities, counties, special districts, schools, courts, and other public entities. Since these entities are overseen by elected officials, it’s our job as union members to find and support officials who will support us, our work, and our priorities across Northern California. In Oakland, one such official is City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas, who is running for re-election now. SEIU Local 1021 has endorsed her, and Felipe Cuevas, the City of Oakland chapter’s president, had this to say about her.

With so many candidates and initiatives on every ballot, sitting down to vote can feel overwhelming. However, our votes are important tools for making our jobs and our communities better. To help make voting simpler, SEIU 1021’s endorsements are listed here and our volunteer opportunities are here.

Four hundred union members, including SEIU 1021, IFTPE Local 21 and now IOUE Stationary Engineers Local 39, came together last Thursday evening at the Joseph Nelson Community Center in Suisun City for strike school.

With a vital midterm election coming up, SEIU 1021 members have an important opportunity to elect their own bosses, by voting for pro-worker candidates and initiatives. Ballots are already landing in mailboxes now, and it’s every union member’s responsibility to make a plan to vote: filling out the ballot and returning it by mail or by dropping it off in an official drop box. (Find a drop box near you by clicking here.)

Leading up to the November 8 general election, we’re sitting down with SEIU 1021 member leaders across Northern California to talk about what’s at stake for workers like us whose employers are (or are funded in large part by) elected leaders.

This week, we’re talking to North Central Regional Vice President Akbar Bibb about what is top of mind for him as the general election approaches and with many bargaining units in the midst of contentious contract negotiations.

Throughout the most recent string of Solano County Board of Supervisors meetings, Solano County workers have confronted the governing body to condemn the mismanagement of services and care that harm the county’s tax-paying residents. Along with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21, the SEIU Local 1021 Solano County chapter made public comments during the past several Board of Supervisors meetings, highlighting the vital need to improve county services and care.

Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 152 to extend COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave to essential workers until December 31, 2022. COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave was previously set to expire on September 30 2022, leaving workers with only the state-mandated three paid sick days as the state faces the possibility of fall and winter surges of the highly transmissible virus. 

Right now, Chico’s retail tax generates less than half of what it costs to run the city. Chico’s population has grown by nearly 19% in the past 10 years, yet the City has 21 fewer city employees—meaning SEIU 1021 members are doing more with less to serve their community.

The City of Chico works hard to be fiscally responsible while maintaining essential city services. However in recent years, population growth, the Camp Fire, COVID-19, and state mandates have all stressed our City finances, and the City’s budget can’t keep pace.