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SF Political Leaders, Community and Labor Groups Endorse Schools and Communities First Initiative
On January 28, SEIU 1021 members joined San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Supervisors Gordon Mar, Shamann Walton, Sandra Fewer and Norman Yee, and other unions, community groups for a rally celebrating the City’s broad support of Schools & Communities First Ballot Initiative.
This exciting measure would reclaim $12 billion each year from wealthy corporations like Chevron and Shell Oil to fund schools and local services. The initiative specifically exempts all residential property, guaranteeing that homeowners and renters will be protected.
At Alameda Health System, 1021 Members Stand Up for a Safe Workplace and a Healthy Environment for Patients
For years, Alameda Health System hospitals have faced
underfunding from the County. Understaffed departments are
struggling to provide adequate care for the poor, the elderly,
the homeless, and people experiencing mental health crises. Now,
SEIU 1021 members are standing up and saying “Enough is
enough!”
Over 850 Behavioral Health and Clinic Workers to Join SEIU
More than 850 HealthRIGHT 360 clinic and behavioral healthcare workers have voted to unionize with the Service Employees International Union on December 16. Months of organizing culminated in the historic vote Monday night, with 73% of HR360 workers at over 100 clinics in Northern and Southern California choosing to unionize by signing authorization cards. The workers will join SEIU Local 1021 in the Bay Area and SEIU Locals 721 and 221 in Los Angeles and San Diego, respectively.
SEIU 1021 Members Kick-off ‘Schools & Communities First’ Signature Gathering Drive
On Saturday, December 7,close to 100 SEIU 1021 members braved the rain to talk to voters and our neighbors about getting the Schools & Communities First initiative on the November 2020 ballot.
“Corporations have been taking money out of our pockets—food out of the mouths of our children—for 40 years, and it’s time to change that. That’s why I’m here today,” said Andrea Mullarkey, SEIU 1021 member and Teen Librarian at the Berkeley Public Library.
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.