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San Joaquin County Public Works wins new boots
1021 Workers at the San Joaquin County Public Works Chapter know that a good pair of boots makes or breaks the job. The goal of the Department of Public Works is to provide quality service to the community and to enhance the public’s quality of life by protecting their investment in the County’s. As part of the bargaining process, the Public Works Chapter has continually fought for the highest-quality boots possible. Our members work in underground facilities, on roadways, across bridges, and in waste facilities.
Sonoma County Workers Win Hazard Pay, Increase in Living Wage Ordinance
December was an exciting month for Sonoma County workers, who
scored two big wins from the Board of Supervisors. Thanks to
stellar organizing led by chapter president Jana Blunt, members
won hazard pay for the more than 4,000 County workers (with the
exception of elected officials) in recognition of their dedicated
service and sacrifice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members also
secured an increase in the county’s living wage ordinance to
$16.75 an hour that will boost the take-home pay of the
lowest-paid County employees.
SEIU 1021 and Other SFUSD Unions Reach Agreement That Ensures High-Quality Masks and Weekly Testing for Students and All Employees and Extended COVID Sick Leave
Thanks to the tireless organizing and mobilizing efforts of the members of SEIU 1021 and the other unions of SFUSD, we were finally able to push District management to accept our COVID safety proposals at the bargaining table last night.
Solano Courts workers vote overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract
Superior Court of Solano County workers have voted to ratify
their most recent agreement, after securing a number of
significant victories for members at the Court.
Included in the new contract are a 6% raise after ratification,
followed by a 3% raise in November of 2022. Members also won
vacation cash out language, new pay differentials for court
reporters that could go as high as 10% depending on the workers’
certification status, and more.
Solano Court worker Dreighton Palacios had this
to say:
From the bargaining table to the streets, San Francisco’s nonprofit workers are fighting for themselves and their clients
Nonprofit workers in San Francisco closed out 2021 with a bang, with big things happening at the Felton Institute and Tenderloin Housing Authority.
City of Hayward Workers Form a Bold Citywide Coalition and Win a Strong Contract for SEIU 1021 Members and Many Others
January 10, 2022: City of Hayward workers came into their latest contract campaign knowing things had to change. The City had allowed some workers to fall behind. In years past, management had even imposed onerous, unfair contract terms on its workforce—a move which was later reversed by a Public Employment Relations Board judge, but which showed clearly their lack of respect for and understanding of the City’s workers.
Holy Names University Adjuncts Secure Strong Tentative Agreement with 45% Raises
Members will vote on contract ratification later this month.
SEIU 1021 members who are adjunct faculty at Holy Names University (HNU) got some good news for the holidays late last month, when their bargaining team reached a strong tentative agreement with university administration after a year and a half of contract negotiations.
The tentative agreement (TA), which adjuncts will vote on later this month, includes 45% raises over the next two and a half years, including a 15% raise starting this month, as well as a host of other improvements adjuncts had identified as priorities for the new contract.
Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District Workers Finally Win a Strong New Contract
The workers of Contra Costra County’s Mosquito and Vector Control District recently voted unanimously to ratify their hard-won new contract, bringing a long campaign to an end. The new three-year contract includes a 1.5% raise and $1,600 signing bonus in the first year, with raises in the second and third years based on the published Consumer Price Index, with a 1% minimum and 4% maximum, to keep these workers from falling behind. The unit’s seasonal aides also received an additional $3 per hour.
Fast-food workers to rally at capital building in support of AB 257 – The FAST Recovery Act
As members of the California State Assembly and the California State Senate return for the 2022 state legislative session, so will fast-food workers, union members, and grassroots activists. On Wednesday, January 12, 2022, supporters of Assembly Bill 257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act or FAST Recovery Act, will rally on the steps of the California State Capitol building.
SEIU Local 1021 remembers all those who suffered under COVID-19
Dec. 28, 2021: As we enter the third year of the pandemic, the lives and livelihoods of SEIU 1021 members continue to be threatened by the COVID-19 crisis. While the bosses fought to cut corners, SEIU 1021 members stood in solidarity with one another, braving the frontlines of the pandemic as essential workers.
SEIU 1021 Members Bring Holiday Cheer to Needy Families at This Year’s Toy Drive
Dec. 27, 2021: This year has been challenging for everyone. When SEIU 1021 members see community members having tough times, they know it’s time to roll up their sleeves and get to work, and that’s just what they did in 2021’s community toy drive.
“There’s Nowhere to Live Here”
SEIU 1021 Mendocino County chapters release report addressing Mendocino County’s housing crisis causes, offering recommendations
Dec. 20, 2021: “I can think of a 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 one Mendocino County employee in a survey. “The average apartment rents for about $1200 to $1300 per month. The rental agency requires your income to be three times the rent. I make around $35 per hour, and I can’t even afford that. How is someone who makes minimum wage or is a single parent supposed to find a place to live?” laments another survey respondent.
Gig workers with We Drive Progress set up Support Hub at San Francisco ghost kitchen
In conjunction with app-based drivers across Los Angeles, Brussels, and cities across nine different countries, and amid an international swell of worker protests, workers with We Drive Progress (WDP) set up Support Hubs in San Francisco, including at a popular South of Market ghost kitchen. Ghost kitchens are food preparation and cooking facilities set up to prepare delivery-only meals that are often utilized by food-ordering and delivery apps, including Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates, Grubhub, Club Feast, and more.
City of Chico workers put City Council on notice that they’re ready to fight to improve working conditions
SEIU 1021 members at the City of Chico showed up with their
families in large numbers at the City of Chico council
hearing on Dec. 7th in a strong showing of union power and
solidarity.
In a huge victory, San Francisco’s public workers secure the right to strike
In 2009, the City amended the Charter to deliberately rig the collective bargaining system in the City’s favor by creating an arbitrary deadline to complete contract negotiations and a harsh penalty for the unions and their members that do not meet the deadline. These changes to the Charter also made it effectively impossible for workers to use the strongest tool available to us – the right to strike – to advocate for ourselves and the community we serve. As a result, the scales have been tipped in management’s favor for years each time we go to the table to bargain a new contract.
California College of the Arts Staff Vote by 97% to Authorize a Strike
CCA administration has spent the 2 years since they formed their union stalling, delaying, and violating federal labor law, and union members have had enough.
Dec. 13, 2021: In what would be the first strike at a private arts college since 2012–and the latest in a number of strikes in colleges and universities–California College of the Arts (CCA) staff voted by 97% this week to authorize their contract negotiating team to call a strike if administration does not put an immediate stop to violations of labor law and bargain in good faith.
Sonoma County Chapter President Jana Blunt Is Kicking A$$ for the Working Class
Now She’ll Have an Award That Says So.
Dec. 14, 2021:
Folks who know SEIU 1021 Sonoma County Chapter President Jana Blunt and are familiar with her work with the union agree: She is an amazing leader who gets s*%t done. Her fierce, persistent, and creative organizing and advocacy was crucial in successfully saving 45+ County workers’ jobs in less than a year and, most recently, winning hazard pay for all County employees for their work and sacrifice throughout the pandemic. And she is still fighting hard for an equitable countywide telework policy.
City of Richmond Part-Timers Win a Historic New Contract
City of Richmond part-time workers ratified their new Memorandum of Understanding unanimously last week. The new agreement brings the part-time contract into alignment with the fulltime agreement for the first time in years, and brings big wins to the group, including their first COLAs since 2015, a pro-rated signing bonus, a classification and compensation study, improved bilingual pay and shoe allowances, a simplified, strengthened grievance procedure, and new, stronger union rights.
City of Oakland Members Stick Together and Fight off an Attack on Their Rights
For years, the City of Oakland had a simple, common-sense approach to drug and alcohol use: if a worker was thought to be impaired at work or under the influence, they would be sent for testing. However, in recent years, some members of the City’s administration started to try to impose a new standard, with a long list of specific job classifications and reduced flexibility for departments. Worst of all, the testing under the new policy was a urine test that would show only the presence of cannabis in the worker’s system, not impairment.
California College of the Arts Staff Set to Hold Strike Vote 12/7 and 12/8
After 2 years of CCA administration slow-walking contract negotiations and violating labor law, staff still don't have a contract--and they're ready to take more drastic action.
Dec. 6, 2021: More than two years after forming their union with SEIU 1021, joining adjunct faculty in the California College of the Arts (CCA) chapter, staff at CCA still don’t have a first contract. And it’s certainly not for lack of effort on the part of the 1021 bargaining team, who have been making proposals addressing the critical needs identified in their bargaining survey since fall of 2019, including living wages based on the cost of living in the Bay Area; wage transparency with yearly increases; career ladders for advancement; and job security.