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Seventh largest school district in California fails to pay its lowest-paid workers
SFUSD shortchanges staff. Again.
July 12 was supposed to be payday for San Francisco Unified School District staff. Yet, nearly 1,000 of its lowest-paid, hardworking employees, including lunch servers, nutrition workers, janitors, and clerks who help keep San Francisco schools running every day, did not receive their much-needed checks, instead receiving a last-minute email from the district stating that it was “unable to implement that timeline successfully.” Workers were informed their checks wouldn’t be available until two weeks later, on July 26.
SEIU 1021 San Francisco nonprofit workers win big increase to minimum compensation ordinance
They also secured a 3.75-4.75% cost of doing business increase that will be passed on to workers
After many months of advocacy and rallies at San Francisco City Hall, SEIU 1021, supported by SEIU 2015 and community partners, accomplished our goal of securing a 4.75% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)/cost of doing business (CDB) for our members working for nonprofits funded by the San Francisco Departments of Public Health, Homelessness, and Adult Probation, as well as 3.75% for all other City-funded nonprofits.
Mendocino County workers picket to save county services
The Board of Supervisors continue to fail to address staffing crisis, harming services for Mendocino families, children, and elderly.
Despite total revenue for Mendocino County having increased 44.8% since fiscal year 2019-2020, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors have suggested County employees pay more for their healthcare and retirement – an overall pay cut that will further harm the County’s ability to apply a tourniquet to its staffing crisis. As County workers continue to escalate towards what could be the largest strike Mendocino County has seen in recent history, County workers picketed Tuesday, July 11, outside the courthouse to save county services.
The fate of the anti-worker Proposition 22 goes to California Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of California granted a request by the California Gig Workers Union on June 28, 2023, to decide the constitutionality of 2020’s California Proposition 22, a voter-approved measure to classify drivers for gig corporations such as Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates as contractors rather than employees. The court’s action set aside a lower-court ruling that had primarily upheld the 2020 ballot measure.
San Francisco Starbucks workers file for their union election
On Wednesday, July 5, Starbucks workers at the 8th and Irving store in San Francisco filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board.
“We as workers are making all the money for these billion-dollar companies, and we’re not seeing any of it. We need an end to the disrespect we get from management, and we need consistent, adequate hours and a living wage,” said Atakan Deviren, a barista at the store for the past year.
Cal Academy of Sciences workers need your support
They are organizing their union with SEIU 1021 -- and Academy management is engaging in classic union-busting tactics
On May 25, 2023, workers at the California Academy of Sciences filed for an NLRB union election to join SEIU 1021 as CalAcademy Workers United. Their election petition demonstrated overwhelming support across the Academy for the formal recognition of our union.
Since then, management has been attempting to defeat their organizing campaign by using typical union-busting tactics including:
Mendocino County workers host strike school
After months of bargaining with a county administration that refuses to address its staffing crisis — leaving its families, children, and seniors in danger — SEIU 1021 members at Mendocino County held a strike school on Wednesday, June 28, to educate themselves about their rights and responsibilities should a strike be necessary.
Shop union for Independence Day!
If you’re enjoying a cookout or other get-together this Fourth of July, don’t forget to shop union! Making the choice to spend your money on union-made products helps support union members just like you.
Hot dogs
- Ball Park (UFCW, IBT)
- Butterball (UFCW, IBT)
- Farmer John (IBT)
- Hebrew National (UFCW, IBT)
- Hormel (IBT)
- Oscar Mayer (UFCW, IBT)
Buns
SEIU 1021 President Theresa Rutherford’s statement on the 6/30/23 Supreme Court decisions:
As you’ve probably heard by now, two devastating decisions were passed down by the United States Supreme Court today that further establish its regressive, harmful attitudes and policies toward the people of this country.
SEIU 1021 members win big from Butte County to Solano County
SEIU 1021 members at the Superior Court of Butte County achieved a significant victory by campaigning and securing a $16,700 retention bonus. Jennifer L. Hunt, an official court reporter from Butte County, emphasized the importance of this achievement: “I work tirelessly to provide our county with the quality record its citizens deserve. We need additional reporters to support our efforts. That can only be accomplished with a competitive wage.”
SEIU 1021 members turn out to support Oakland’s creative budget
Just after 11 p.m., Monday, June 26, Oakland City Council passed its two-year budget.
Starbucks workers at San Francisco Castro District strike to protest company’s alleged Pride restrictions
On Sunday, June 25, Starbucks workers at the San Francisco Castro District store joined at least 3000 other Starbucks workers at more than 150 locations in a nationwide strike to protest the company’s alleged restriction of Pride decorations.
San Francisco Civil Grand Jury confirms what we’ve said for years: It’s time to staff up San Francisco
On Thursday, June 22, 2023, the Civil Grand Jury for the 2022-to-2023 term published its “Time to Get to Work: San Francisco’s Hiring Crisis” report. The report describes how the City and County of San Francisco faces a crisis of excessive turnover and lack of recruitment in programs that address the city’s problems with drug addiction, untreated mental health disorders, and housing insecurity.
Members learn skills to build workplace power at a three-day AFL-CIO Organizing Institute
From June 9 to 11, 2023, forty dedicated union member leaders and organizers from across the country, including seven from SEIU Local 1021, participated in the AFL–CIO Organizing Institute. Over those three days, they learned principles, shared their experiences, and reinforced best practices necessary to build a movement to meet this moment. Participants learned how to build workplace power in a variety of ways.
By celebrating Juneteenth, we honor the struggles of the past & highlight Black excellence
SEIU 1021 members are cordially invited to join us in celebrating Juneteenth this Friday, June 16, from 5:30-9:30 PM with a vibrant event featuring delicious food, captivating music, and a joyful atmosphere in the heart of San Francisco!
Sacramento union leaders create vision for housing & homelessness campaign
Since March 22, 2023, the Sacramento Central Labor Council has been hosting bi-weekly meetings at SEIU 1021’s Sacramento office to discuss Sacramento’s housing affordability and homelessness crisis.
More than 50 rank-and-file union member leaders have been attending, including from AFSCME 3299, California Faculty Association, Firefighters Local 522, Professional Engineers in California Government, UNITE HERE, SEIU 1000, SEIU 2015, SEIU USWW, and SEIU 1021.
Fast-food workers continue to fight back after passing the “FAST Recovery Act”
Only a few months into her job as a Burger King worker in Oakland, Alondra Hernandez faced a violent episode at her workplace. Complaining about his order, a Burger King customer hit the protective plexiglass barrier that separated employees from customers with his fist. The acrylic partition shattered. Bits of glass struck the manager’s forehead. Afraid that she would be attacked next, Hernandez considered running. Instead, she rushed to her bleeding coworker, a task never discussed during her training.
Worker power wins again!
Dixon Unified School District classified employees ratify hard-fought agreement
In another example of workers uniting to achieve victory, Dixon Unified School District (DUSD) classified employees ratified a hard-fought tentative agreement on May 31, with 97% of voting members voting YES.
Following a historic vote to authorize a strike on May 3 and then a rally May 18 at the Dixon school board meeting, where classified staff and allies demanded the district address high turnover and short staffing caused by inadequate wages, the once largely inflexible board seems to have experienced a wake-up call.
California Senate passes SB 779 to strengthen community clinics through improved job training opportunities
May 31, the California State Senate passed SB 779 (Stern), a bill that will empower community clinic workers to strengthen the clinics that provide essential care to one in three Medi-Cal patients. SB 779 aims to help people get job training after the COVID-19 pandemic by updating the way workforce programs are organized and by supporting different types of job training models. These models include employment social enterprises (ESEs) and worker cooperatives.
Mendocino County workers flood Board of Supervisors budget hearings, demanding they prioritize services & people
On Tuesday June 6, 2023, dozens of SEIU 1021 Mendocino County chapter members confronted the Board of Supervisors during their budget hearings. They demanded that the Board prioritize people and services in its upcoming budget.