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On Juneteenth, over 38,000 union dockyard workers shut down ports across the Pacific Coast ports in protest of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. SEIU 1021 members were proud to participate in one the largest actions seen so far in solidarity with the nationwide protests against police brutality. 

Dear Mayor Schaaf, Council Member Thao, and Council Member Kaplan: I am a resident of District 4 and a City of Oakland employee. I am writing to you as a concerned Oakland resident. For the past 13 years, I have had the honor of working for the Oakland Public Library.

In the wake of the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbrey, SEIU 1021 members hosted a powerful Racial Justice Roundtable discussion on June 9. This deeply personal conversation was intended to create space for us to process, provide support, and discuss what’s happening in our communities and what we can do in this moment.

You can watch a full recording of the event on the SEIU 1021 Facebook Page or on Vimeo.

The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbrey are painful reminders of why our union committed in 2016 to becoming an antiracist organization and tackling anti-Black racism. There can be no justice without racial justice.

As Oakland’s strength is being tested by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Libby Schaaf has attacked city workers. First, she issued pre-emptive layoff notices to a thousand so-called “temporary, part-time” workers, many of whom have worked for Oakland for years. Then, she proposed weeks of furlough days and postponing wage increases. At the same time, she was busy appointing her cronies to high-paid positions in the City Administrator’s office.

As the impending economic impact the COVID-19 outbreak will have on our communities comes into focus, we have seen many employers already calling for cuts to services and staff. We know there are difficult times ahead, but many of our communities have not yet fully recovered from the last recession. Cutting services further and not safeguarding against privatization would be devastating for millions, including SEIU 1021 members.

In honor of Nurses week, the San Francisco Chronicle profiled seven SEIU 1021 members battling coronavirus on both sides of the Bay Area on May 6.

The work done by every SEIU 1021 member has kept our communities safer and healthier, and the media has noticed. Many of our stories are countless, and often undisclosed in the media, but now thanks to you–our stories are going around the world. 

Please share their stories published in San Francisco Chronicle with your co-workers and join the fight for #ProtectAllWorkers. 

Workers keeping our public spaces clean and sanitary at hospitals, schools, local government office spaces, buses, BART to our city streets are being hailed as heroes. Cleaners, janitors, housekeepers, environment service workers, and garbage collectors are typically among the lowest paid and have tough jobs.

On March 11, employees of Oakland’s Mills College voted overwhelmingly to form a union. Nearly 95% of the votes cast were YES votes. Staff members unite with the adjunct facility in SEIU 1021 to improve student learning and working conditions at the college.  Adjunct faculty voted to join SEIU 1021 in 2014.