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OUSD Management Continues to Ignore Staff’s COVID Safety Demands
October 25, 2021: Nearly three weeks ago, on October 6, the SEIU 1021 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) bargaining team, alongside Oakland Education Association (OEA), delivered extremely important proposals in our contract negotiations with OUSD management: a COVID-19 safety protocol designed to ensure that management started protecting the health and safety of District students, District employees, and the larger OUSD community.
Mills College Staff Union rallies and marches for a better future
“Who makes Mills? We make Mills!” The protest chants echoed throughout the Oakland, California private women’s liberal arts college. The militancy of the Mills College Staff Union, which represents four hundred staff and non-tenured faculty, was on full display. On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, hundreds of Mills College staff, adjunct faculty, teachers, professors, students, and community allies rallied at Rothwell Center in front of Mills Hall.
Asian Health Services Reach Tentative Agreement After Long Negotiation
October 12, 2021: After a lot of hard work, effort, and patience, SEIU 1021 members at Asian Health Services (AHS) have finally reached a tentative agreement (TA) with management! The TA includes eight percent in raises over the next two years, as well as some equity adjustments for certain classifications and improvements in contract language around grievance and arbitration, sick leave, and more.
IATSE Members Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize a Strike to Demand Better Working Conditions
October 12, 2021: Imagine this scenario: You sit down in front of your TV screen, tablet, or phone. You log onto the Paramount+ video-on-demand streaming service app to catch up on Star Trek: Discovery. You wait patiently for the blue and white Paramount mountain logo to fade. You wait. You wait some more. Then, nothing happens. It is frozen, stuck, and no longer working.
1021 Members Work to Assess and Address the Housing Crisis in Mendocino County
Oct. 5, 2021: “I can think of half a dozen employees that the County has offered jobs to here on the coast, but they had to turn down the offer, because they couldn’t find anywhere to live,” reported a Mendocino County employee in Fort Bragg in response to a community survey administered recently by the SEIU 1021 Mendocino County Chapter’s Housing Options Committee, which formed this spring to assess the depth and breadth of the county’s housing crisis and work on solutions.
California College of the Arts Staff and Faculty Continue to Fight for a Fair Contract, as the National Labor Relations Board Issues an Unfair Labor Practice Complaint
Since California College of the Art (CCA) staff formed their union with SEIU Local 1021 two years ago, they have been working hard to secure a fair contract with a living wage and job security. CCA non-tenured faculty have also been at the bargaining table for over a year since their first contract expired.
La Clínica de la Raza members fight for an investment in patients and our communities
Sign & show your support for these workers!
Sign our petition to support workers at La Clínica!
La Clínica de la Raza provides vital healthcare services to communities in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and Solano County. These healthcare services are overwhelmingly provided by the 700+ members of SEIU 1021.
Two for two: Miller and Pacheco win 2021 CalPERS Board of Administration race
Victory! SEIU Local 1021, along with firefighters, teachers, health care workers, and the rest of the California labor movement, successfully led the effort to re-elect David Miller and elect Jose Luis Pacheco to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board. At stake during the race for the Board of Administration were the hard-earned retirement savings and the health care benefits of its over two million members.
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.
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.
SEIU 1021 Votes to Prioritize and Lead on Racial Justice
Convention Delegates Adopted the Racial Justice Plank by 96%
The first guest speaker at the SEIU 1021 Virtual Convention on Saturday, September 25, 2021, was Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who this spring successfully prosecuted Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who murdered George Floyd last year, setting off months of uprisings for racial justice across not only the U.S. but the world. In addressing the racial justice plank, Ellison emphasized the need to do more than just tinker around the edges of a system built to oppress.
SEIU 1021 Commits to Leading Fight for Economic Justice Across Sectors
Convention Delegates Adopted the Economic Justice Plank by 96%
Unions like SEIU 1021 have always been the most powerful check on corporate power and income inequality—and after decades of attacks on labor rights and unions’ political influence by the corporations who profit mightily from exploitation and the right-wing politicians whose campaigns they fund, it’s more critical than ever that strong unions like ours work overtime to balance the playing field.
SEIU 1021 Pledges to Fight for Unions for All
Convention Delegates Adopted the Unions for All Plank by 95%
“As a union, we grow, or we die,” proclaimed SEIU 1021 Vice President of Organizing Jennifer Esteen in introducing the fourth plank of the 2021 convention platform: unions for all. “Organizing is how we grow. It’s the way we bring new members into our union. It also means fighting for justice, fighting for equality, and fighting to build power with unorganized workers.”
SEIU 1021 Pledges to Work for Environmental Justice and Climate Action
Convention Delegates Adopted the Environmental Justice and Climate Action Plank by 94%
The third plank of the 2021 Virtual Convention was one that hasn’t always been a priority for labor unions—but is becoming undeniably more urgent every day.
SEIU 1021 Votes to Prioritize Member Unity and Power
Convention Delegates Voted to Adopt the Member Unity and Power Plank by 96%
In introducing the fifth plank at the 2021 Virtual Convention, SEIU 1021 East Bay Vice President Yeon Park shared a deeply personal, heart-wrenching example of how unions can be a vital tool to fight racism and discrimination in the workplace.
SEIU 1021 Votes to Focus on Reclaiming Our Democracy
Convention Delegates Voted to Adopt the Reclaiming Our Democracy Plank by 95%
The final plank our 2021 Virtual Convention delegates deliberated and voted on was reclaiming our democracy. Protecting and expanding rights can only happen when everyone can meaningfully participate in our democratic system. And, as guest speakers California Attorney General Rob Bonta (did you know he’s also a 1021 member, as an adjunct professor at Mills College?) and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla emphasized, reactionary politicians understand that their best hope of holding onto power and maintaining the unequal, unjust status quo is suppressing the vote.
1021 Members Stick Together and Notch Big Wins Across the East Bay
In Richmond and Oakland, 1021 members have seen the power of unity pay off. Oakland’s Head Start program, which offers free early childhood education and family services to low-income residents, was scheduled to take big cuts, including closing three locations. Members and community partners spoke out against these cuts, and Oakland’s City Council voted to allocate money to keep the Franklin, Arroyo Viejo, and Tassafaronga sites open, without cuts or layoffs.
SF Registered Nurses win huge arbitration victory restoring bilingual pay
Earlier this year, our union filed for arbitration over management’s decision to begin withholding bilingual pay for nurses. Management stopped administering the test for bilingual pay, and refused to continue to give bilingual pay from nurses who had already been approved.
Earlier this month, we finally got word that the arbitrator had issued his decision, saying that the City blatantly violated the MOU by:
App workers secure a huge victory on Friday as an Alameda County judge strikes down Proposition 22 as unconstitutional
Click here to stand with gig workers by signing their petition.
In a huge victory on Friday, Judge Roesch of the Alameda Superior Court ruled that Proposition 22 violates the Constitution of the State of California, meaning the gig industry-funded ballot initiative is unconstitutional and is therefore unenforceable.