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At Santa Clara University, adjuncts and lecturers join the increasing wave of working people seeking to join together in a union, in the face of administrative opposition
On Friday, April 9, at 2 p.m., adjuncts and lecturers at Santa Clara University, joined by their supporters, led a march and rally on campus to demand respect as well as a free and fair union election.
Since 2017, non-tenure track faculty at SCU have worked together to form their union with SEIU 1021. Workers are organizing to address the unstable working conditions, inadequate pay, and inequitable and non-transparent decision-making at the university. These efforts have met constant resistance from the university’s administration.
Facing an unprecedented safety and staffing crisis, healthcare workers around Northern California fight back
Long before COVID-19, SEIU 1021 healthcare workers were there for vulnerable patients in our communities—often despite a lack of adequate staffing and other dangerous working conditions. Now that we’re a full year into the worst global health emergency in over a century, many of our healthcare members find themselves working through crisis-level conditions.
SEIU 1021 takes the lead in reimagining public safety by spearheading Oakland’s MACRO program and creating good, union jobs to respond to mental health emergencies
Public safety has many faces. To protect our community and improve conditions for our friends, family, and neighbors who are experiencing mental health issues, Oakland has taken a bold step by creating a new emergency response unit called the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO). This unit will be made up of civilians with medical and mental health training, and these civilians will be SEIU 1021 members.
Hundreds rally to #SaveMills in the wake of a shocking announcement that the doors of the historical women’s college will be shuttered
On March 17, 2021, the Mills College Board of Trustees announced its intention to dismantle the historic women’s college and replace it as an undefined “Institute” on a breakneck two-year timeline. As part of this shocking decision, the school said they would stop granting four-year degrees to students.
A statement from SEIU 1021 Joseph Bryant Condemning Anti-Asian Racism and the Recent Targeted Shootings in Atlanta
“This week, our country saw yet another incident of violence against people of color, as a young man murdered 8 people in Atlanta, including six Asian women in their place of work. While the details of this violence are still coming into focus, make no mistake, these killings did not occur in a vacuum. They took place within the larger context of hatred and violence aimed at members of the API community occurring all across the United States.
San Francisco Newsletter: March 2021
Welcome to the March issue of our new recurring monthly newsletter for SEIU 1021 members in San Francisco. You can read our most recent issue here, or keep reading below to see recaps of the big fights our members have taken on in the last month.
If you have a workplace issue you or your colleagues are dealing with and you’d like help and support from our union, don’t forget that in addition to reaching out to your steward or labor representative, you can also contact the SEIU 1021 Member Resource Center at 1-877-687-1021.
Oakland Airport Custodians Bring Their Safety and Staffing Demands Straight to the Boss
“Know one thing: Custodians are essential!”
Custodians are standing together to demand an end to understaffing and improved safety in the workplace at Oakland’s International Airport.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, cleaning high-traffic areas absolutely cannot be compromised on, but understaffing is making that impossible at the airport. As Jo’Ell Thompson, a custodian at the Oakland Airport for ten years, said, “We are cleaning contaminated areas, where people who are known to be infected have been, but we’re understaffed and unable to keep the airport properly cleaned.”
The SFUSD Board of Education Rafities the Tentative Agreements Between the Unions of SFUSD and the School District
In a special meeting on Tuesday, February 23, the SFUSD Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the tentative agreements between the school district and SEIU 1021, IFPTE Local 21, and IUOE Local 39 for safely returning to in-person learning. This moment marks a momentous gain in the movement to safely reopen schools for students and workers in SFUSD and lays the groundwork for similar agreements that are sure to come in other school districts across the Bay Area.
The Movement to Safely Re-Open Schools Progresses Forward with Vaccination Rollouts and Tentative Reopening Agreements
As the debate around returning to in-person learning in schools rages on, SEIU 1021 members and chapter leaders have been on the ground working with educators and communities in San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento to ensure our members and their families are protected.
The work we helped lead with the Unions of SFUSD led to a tentative agreement with the school district for baseline health and safety standards for students, educators, and families around sanitizing, PPE, testing, ventilation, and the current hot button topic — vaccinations.
San Francisco Newsletter: February 2021
Welcome to the February issue of our new recurring monthly newsletter for SEIU 1021 members in San Francisco. You can read our most recent issue here, or keep reading below to see recaps of the big fights our members have taken on in the last month.
You’ll also find updates on ongoing campaigns around the city and stories celebrating some of our union’s most recent victories.
After a Virtual Press Conference, Unions of SFUSD Reach a Tentative Agreement on Safety Protocols and Vaccines to Re-Open SF Schools
On Friday, February 5, the Unions of SFUSD, which includes SEIU 1021, United Educators of SF, UASF, and IFPTE Local 21, held a virtual press conference on school re-openings. Workers proposed a pathway for the health and safety protocols that are necessary for a safe return to in-person learning for students, teachers, workers, and SF communities.
VICTORY: SF P103 Per Diem Nurses Win COVID-19 Leave
Nurses are the frontline of defense for our community’s health and have worked tirelessly around the clock to keep our city’s residents safe from the COVID-19 pandemic. When the city rolled out its COVID leave bank last March, however, P103 nurses were not given access to that emergency leave. This was unacceptable, so our union jumped into action.
Video Killed the Radio Star, but Automation May Kill Public Radio Station 91.7 KALW
On Tuesday, January 26, 91.7 KALW staff joined radio hosts and unionized musicians from across the country to speak out at the SFUSD school board meeting against staff cuts and automation at the local station in an attempt to save public radio at KALW. Over the last year, local radio station 91.7 KALW has been making not-so-subtle changes to their live broadcast programming and announcing staffing.
San Francisco Newsletter: January 2021
Welcome to the first issue of our new recurring monthly newsletter for SEIU 1021 members in San Francisco. You can read our most recent issue here.
Keep reading to see recaps of the big fights our members have taken on in the last month, as well as updates on ongoing campaigns around the city and stories celebrating some of our union’s most recent victories.
Making a Difference: Mendocino Members Speak Up and Prevent COVID-19 Vaccines from Going to Waste
When a freezer that was used to store the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a Northern California hospital broke down in early January, hospital officials realized they only had about two hours to administer the more than 800 doses that were stored inside. Our Mendocino County members immediately jumped into action, assisting in the rapid deployment of vaccines to their community. In just two hours, workers were able to get 200 badly needed doses administered.
Friday, January 15: Join a Car Caravan to Support Striking Fast Food Workers
In solidarity with fast-food workers across the nation who are fighting for a $15 minimum wage and a union, our local will be joining the nationwide strike at fast food locations in both Oakland and Sacramento on Friday, January 15. During the pandemic, fast-food corporations have prospered because frontline workers reported to duty despite being denied basic protections from PPE to paid sick leave. The pandemic has only underscored the urgent need for fast-food workers in the state to have a union.
Prop 22 Is Bad for Workers: That’s Why We Are Suing to Strike It Down
Today, January 12, 2021 app workers and members of We Drive Progress and Mobile Workers Alliance, along with consumers and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), filed a lawsuit challenging Proposition 22 for violating our state constitution. Prop 22 should be struck down.
Marin Municipal Water District workers secure a new contract
This month, our members at Marin Municipal Water District overwhelmingly ratified our next contract. Workers were able to secure this agreement because of our strong membership numbers and because we speak with one voice as a union in our political engagement with elected leaders and also with managers at our worksite.
Dominican University adjuncts secure massive settlement for workers during difficult times
SEIU 1021 members at Dominican University recently showcased the power of our union, as they were able to secure a settlement totaling around $750,000 for their members during recent negotiations.
Adjunct faculty at the university were negotiating their second contract as members of SEIU 1021, having joined our union in early 2015. Adjunct professors often have considerable less security than tenured, full-time faculty, making the power of a union essential in their fights for improved wages and benefits.
After a successful strike, new management comes to Alameda Health System
CEO out, SEIU 1021 member in as a Trustee
Workers at Alameda Health System, the county’s safety-net healthcare system, have been fighting for better care, better management, and a fair contract. After their successful five-day unfair labor practice strike in early October, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors stepped in and demanded that the AHS Board of Trustees resign. Last week, AHS CEO Delvecchio Finley gave the Board of Supervisors a letter of resignation, and today, SEIU 1021 Vice President of Organizing Jennifer Esteen, a psychiatric nurse at San Francisco General Hospital, will be sworn in as one of the new trustees.