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Felton Institute workers provide crucial social services to our most vulnerable community members. Years of short-staffing, lack of support, bullying, intimidation, and low pay for frontline staff have led to constant turnover and burnout—all of which impact client services. Meanwhile, Felton’s C-Suite executives report annual salaries over $200,000, with CEO Al Gilbert pocketing over $300,000.

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.

App-based drivers and delivery workers from across the Golden State announced the formation of a union Wednesday — the California Gig Workers Union (CGWU) — at a rally in front of Uber headquarters in San Francisco. 

Citing low wages and a lack of basic protections on the job, gig workers called on Uber and other tech giants to grant them employee protections and to recognize their right to join together in a union. Drivers marched to Lyft and DoorDash headquarters, too, holding similar rallies outside each.

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.)