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Courts Workers Storm Sacramento
On Tuesday, May 14, court workers from throughout the state met
with fellow SEIU members to talk to elected officials about the
need to continue to devote funds to courts most in
need. Court workers encouraged elected officials to make sure
those who interact with the courts obtain fair,
equitable, and timely access to services. To do this, elected
officials must invest in court hours, staff adequately, and
provide reasonable pay to retain dedicated, experienced
workers.
Sandy Walden, a court reporter at Contra
Costa Courts explained why she and her coworkers
decided to come to Sacramento to speak directly to legislators,
“Elected officials need to hear directly from us and the issues
that confront us everyday. They need to see and hear the people
whose lives they impact with the policies they pass or deny.”
Workers also spoke to elected officials and their staff about
closing the pay gap in the trial court industry. Court reporters
provide a necessary service to our judicial system, maintaining
not only the record, but the sanctity of court proceedings. Court
Reporters, which consists of a predominantly female workforce,
have not received an increase in their statutorily set transcript
rate in 30 years. It is time to close the gender pay gap.
City of Berkeley Legislative Aides win a voice at work by joining SEIU 1021
Last night, Berkeley Legislative Aides employed by the City Council submitted a petition to the Berkeley Personnel Board calling for the same collective voice that other city workers enjoy. After successfully making their case to the Personnel Board, these 17 workers became the newest members of the Berkeley Community Service Chapter of SEIU 1021.
Environmental Services workers at Alameda Health System fight back against layoffs—and win.
When Alameda Health System began notifying people of layoffs, workers knew how damaging it would be for patient care across the County’s hospitals and health services—and they began organizing to take action at the upcoming Board of Trustees meeting.
Flanked by over 30 coworkers and supporters in scrubs and purple union shirts, EVS worker Donn DesBoine told the AHS Board of Trustees at their September meeting, “Sometimes there’s one housekeeper to a floor…If the layoffs happen, there’s no care for infection control…[and] the patients are going to be affected.”
SEIU 1021 Endorsed Candidates Win November Election
SEIU 1021 members walked precincts and made phone calls
for a handful of candidates in the City of Novato and
San Francisco during this year’s November
election. Members made a final Get-Out-The-Vote push for
Chesa Boudin for District Attorney in San Francisco, and Susan
Wernick and Amy Peel for the Novato City Council. All three
candidates won.
City of Oakland Workers Overwhelmingly Approve New Two-Year Contract
After nearly nine months of a hard-fought campaign, SEIU 1021
members of the City of Oakland chapter have voted overwhelmingly
in favor of a new two-year contract. Because of the unity
showed by 1021 members, the City was forced to back down from
their attempts to pull healthcare from City workers and to make
it easier to hire their cronies instead of drawing from Oakland’s
existing part-time workforce. Workers will receive a 6%
raise over the two years of the contract, and won improved
contract language around health and safety.
La Clínica Workers Fight Against Chronic Understaffing
On Monday, October 28 at noon, doctors, nurses, medical assistants and other staff at La Clínica de La Raza rallied outside clinics in three counties to demand management put an end to the chronic understaffing that prevents the delivery of safe patient care.
Santa Clara County Workers On Strike
Since October 2, our SEIU 521 sisters and brothers working for Santa Clara County have been on strike for the first time in nearly 40 years. Santa Clara County workers are striking over the County’s Unfair Labor Practices (ULP), which hurt the ability of workers to provide top-notch services to their residents.
Agreement Reached to Save the Adult Residential Facility and Stop Displacement of Mentally Ill Residents in San Francisco
After months of protests aimed at protecting the residents of the Adult Residential Facility, members of SEIU 1021 and IFPTE Local 21, together with SF Supervisors Ronen and Haney, reached an agreement with the SF Department of Public Health and the Mayor London Breed to protect the facility and its severely mentally ill residents on October 11.
SEIU Members Question 2020 Candidates at the Unions For All Summit in LA
Over 1000 SEIU members, and workers not-yet-members from the
Fight for $15 and a Union Campaign, gathered at the Unions For
All Summit in Los Angeles on Oct. 3-6 to interview the 2020
presidential candidates and hear their plans for ensuring
that every working American has the right to have a union.
At the heart of the ‘Unions for All’ demand is the idea that if
everyone was in a union, working people would have the power and
resources to achieve economic justice, eradicate anti-Black
racism, fund public services and fix our environment.
Oakland City Workers Fight To Fill 600 Vacant Positions
Over 400 Oakland City workers picketed outside City Hall on
September 25. A sea of purple and blue shirts united in the
streets as union members of SEIU Local 1021 and IFPTE Local 21
stopped traffic to send a message to the Mayor.
Oakland is facing a crisis and residents are being starved of
city services.
SEIU 1021 Healthcare Workers Join The Picket Line as RNs Strike at San Leandro Hospital
SEIU 1021 members stood on the picket line with Registered Nurses during their one-day strike at San Leandro Hospital on September 20. Nurses called out management’s unfair labor practices and bad faith bargaining after negotiations stalled.
John Pearson, ER nurse and SEIU 1021 chapter president of Alameda
Health Systems, felt it was important to show solidarity with the
Nurses.
“We are in the exact same fight with Alameda Health Systems and
we know that management is going to treat us the same way during
our contract negotiations.”
SF Hospital Workers Fight for Safe Staffing and Against Outsourcing
On September 12, over 250 hospital workers rallied to address chronic understaffing at Laguna Honda Hospital and the Adult Residential Facility (ARF) at San Francisco General Hospital’s campus. Holding signs that read “A Patient Care Solution is Safe Staffing Not Scapegoating,” workers criticized the SF Department of Public Health (DPH) for outsourcing jobs to save money.
Gig Worker Caravan Makes a Stop at Uber HQ in SF
Rideshare drivers seek to pass AB5 and a union
On August 26, SEIU 1021 President Joseph Bryant, Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg and community supporters stood with hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers caravanning to draw attention to their lack of worker protections. The caravan stopped in front of Uber headquarters in San Francisco to a protest low wages and highlight their demand for a union. The caravan of gig workers started in Los Angeles on August 24 and was headed to Sacramento to lobby elected officials on AB 5 –the gig worker protection act– on August 27.
Mendocino County Workers Win Historic Agreement to Fund Public Services
On August 13, Mendocino County members approved their agreement with the county that includes a 9% base wage increase over three years and additional equity wage adjustments for a majority of SEIU 1021 represented positions. Public services have suffered as the County’s workforce investments have lagged behind comparable employers. The deal was approved by the Board of Supervisors on August 20.
Senate Committee Listens to Tenants, Moves Crucial Housing Justice Legislation Forward
Sacramento, CA – The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California released the following statement from Bruce Boyer, a member of SEIU Local 1021 and Campus Monitor at Will C. Wood Middle School in Sacramento, after the Senate Judiciary Committee passed AB 1482 by Assembly member David Chiu (D-San Francisco). The legislation would protect working families struggling to keep their homes by preventing landlords from rent gouging and requiring landlords to have just cause to evict tenants.
Senate Committee Listens to Tenants, Moves Crucial Housing Justice Legislation Forward
Sacramento, CA – The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California released the following statement from Bruce Boyer, a member of SEIU Local 1021 and Campus Monitor at Will C. Wood Middle School in Sacramento, after the Senate Judiciary Committee passed AB 1482 by Assembly member David Chiu (D-San Francisco). The legislation would protect working families struggling to keep their homes by preventing landlords from rent gouging and requiring landlords to have just cause to evict tenants.
Contra Costa County Takes Action to Combat Chronic Understaffing
Contra Costa County shop stewards Katrina Beverly,
Vickey Dominguez, and Ashley Payne met with their coworkers
regarding worksite issues. To discover that all were
impacted by chronic understaffing. Chief Steward Ashley
Payne sent a request for information and found that hundreds of
positions were unfilled by the county.
Members leaped into action to organize their coworkers to attend
three Board of Supervisors meetings to tell their stories about
how understaffing lowers worker morale and
hurts the services they provide to the community.
City of Oakland Workers Lead the Community’s Fight for a City Budget That Works for Everyone
City of Oakland workers led the community charge last night as
hundreds of Oaklanders stormed Oakland’s City Council meeting to
speak out in favor of good services for city residents.
Previously, Mayor Libby Schaaf had proposed a budget that the
community had roundly rejected for making parks dirtier and less
safe by cutting Parks and Rec staffing, ignoring homelessness and
the affordable housing crisis, and making city workers poorer
while costs of living continue to skyrocket.
14,000 San Francisco Citywide Workers Approve Agreement
After more than five months campaigning for a fair contract and fighting for quality public services for San Francisco residents, 14,000 miscellaneous employees of the City and County of San Francisco voted to ratify a contract. The 3-year agreement includes historic raises, health and safety improvements, and increased staffing in various departments.
Solano County Community Stops Pollution-Generating Cement Factory
In 2017 South Vallejo residents learned that VMT/ORCEM was appealing the city’s Planning Commission’s decision to block the corporation’s construction of a cement factory on the waterfront. Because it impacted the communities we serve and live in, our members held a community forum at our Fairfield union hall to learn about the cement factory’s impact on public health and learned about the cement making process’ potential to pollute the air and the bay.
No Hate in Healthcare
Nurses Condemn U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Rule Enabling Discrimination in Healthcare Services
Today nurses, joined by community allies, gathered in front of SF General Hospital’s historic Ward 86—the first dedicated AIDS clinic in the country—to speak out against the Trump Administration’s “conscience in healthcare” rule. The rule allows healthcare providers, insurance companies, hospitals and pharmacies to refuse healthcare based on personal beliefs.