Home Spotlight
As a Public Sector Worker, You May be Eligible for Student Loan Forgiveness!
Under a new policy from the Department of Education, if you work fulltime in the public sector (for a city, county, or other governmental organization or a non-profit that provides a designated public service, including early childhood education and public health), you may be eligible to have your federal student loans canceled. However, you must take action soon: the new policy states that you must apply before October 31, 2022.
A statement from President Joseph Bryant on the verdict in the Ahmaud Arbery trial
“Today, a jury in Georgia found Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan Jr. guilty of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. This conviction gets right what our justice system too often gets wrong by affirming the right of Black people and people of color to live free from intimidation, violence, and murder.
We Mourn the Tragic Death of Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan
“Today I join our community in grieving a massive loss. Wilma Chan has passed away, taken from us far too soon.
She spent her life in service to her community, as an Alameda County Supervisor and in the California State Assembly. She was a beacon for the Asian-American and Pacific Islander Community, as our state’s first Asian-American Assembly Majority Leader. She was a dedicated and tenacious advocate for healthcare, affordable housing, families, our elders, and our children.
Caring about CalPERS: An interview with SEIU Local 1021 Retirement Security Committee Chair Cynthia Landry
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) manages pension and health care benefits for slightly over two million California public employees, retirees, and their families. Nearly one-third of CalPERS members are retirees receiving a monthly allowance from the pension and health care benefits system.
Cynthia Landry, the chair of the SEIU Local 1021 Retirement Security Committee, speaks about the importance of CalPERS, particularly on the diversity of its governing Board of Administration, and supporting labor:
Registration for the SEIU 1021 Virtual Convention for ALL members is now Closed!
Registration for All Members of 2021 Virtual Convention of SEIU 1021 ended on September 10.
The 2021 SEIU 1021 Convention is only weeks away, and we’ve been busy lining up dynamic speakers, engaging workshops, and an amazing program. Our convention platforms will focus on six key areas of our work: Economic Justice, Racial Justice, Climate Justice, Unions for All, Reclaiming Our Democracy, and Member Unity and Power.
San Francisco Newsletter: August 2021
Welcome to the August issue of our monthly newsletter for SEIU 1021 members in San Francisco. You can read our July issue here, or keep reading below to see recaps of the big fights our members have taken on in the last month.
North Coast News – August 2021
Check out what SEIU 1021 members are working on from Marin to Del Norte County!
All over the North Coast region, members and chapter leaders have been taking our fights to the boss, advocating for better wages, safer working conditions, and increased benefit support from their employers.
Keep reading to see what’s new up and down California’s North Coast this month for SEIU 1021 members.
Upcoming Meeting Calendar
Say “NO” to the Recall! Volunteer today.
It's a Right-Wing Attack on Our Jobs and Our Communities
According to recent polling, if the election to recall Governor Gavin Newsom were held today, he would lose. Without a worker-friendly governor in office, our jobs would be in jeopardy, and our communities would be left with less of the support they need.
Too many of our friends, co-workers, and family members aren’t taking this recall election seriously. You can help stand up for good, union jobs and services for our communities no matter where you live or work.
Caring about CalPERS: An interview with SEIU Local 1021 Retiree Council Chair Peter Albert
Managing pension and health benefits for more than 1.6 million California public employees, retirees, and their families, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is the largest public pension fund in the United States. At the top of the CalPERS executive branch agency is the Board of Administration.
Scabby the Rat Lives!
The Powerful Symbol of a Fighting Union Survives Another Legal Attack
If you’ve shown up at an SEIU 1021 strike, you’ve probably seen Scabby the Rat, a giant inflatable rodent looming over the crowd and showing everybody with eyes that there’s a rat inside the building. For years, on strike lines and other labor movement actions, Scabby has symbolized a bad boss inside and a fighting union outside.
Labor Leaders Lead the March for the Build Back Better Plan
In the nineteen-thirties and forties, it was the labor movement that brought the United States, and the world, out of the Great Depression. Only a decade ago, it was millions of working-class people that saved the U.S. and the world from the worst of the Great Recession.
Now, COVID-19 has revealed the structural inequalities about how our profit-first society runs. The pandemic has laid bare the injustice we see in race, class, gender, ethnicity, and more. It has also exposed the indifference to human suffering that is endemic to a system that favors the few over the many.
Member Interview: Organizing Good Trouble with SEJ Committee Chair Derrick Boutte
“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
–U.S. Representative John Lewis, Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama, March 1, 2020
Every three years, the leadership of SEIU 1021 organizes a convention where members gather, build community, and lay the foundation for our organizing in the years to come. You can learn more about this year’s convention at 1021convention.org.
Delegates Reach Overwhelming Consensus on SEIU Local 1021’s Priorities at the 2021 Virtual Convention
Racial Justice, Economic Justice, Environmental Justice and Climate Action, Unions for All, Member Unity and Power, and Reclaiming Our Democracy
Saturday, September 25, 538 voting delegates and rank and file members, staff, and guests showed up for the SEIU Local 1021 Virtual Convention for four hours of powerful talks from special guest speakers, discussion and debate, as well as some entertainment and fun. The task before the voting delegates: to lay out the union’s priorities for the next three years.
Save the Date: 2021 SEIU 1021 Virtual Member Convention
Every three years, the leadership and staff at SEIU 1021 organize a member convention where we gather, build community, and lay the foundation for organizing in the years to come. This year, we’re going virtual with the same intention and goal to bring our members and leaders together for a day of celebration, acknowledgment, and organizing around economic, climate, and racial justice.
Ahead of McDonald’s shareholder meeting, Bay Area Cooks and Cashiers strike to highlight the company’s failure to protect workers in the Fight for 15 and a union
McDonald’s workers outside of a San Francisco location donned in bright red t-shirts that read “Our labor is worth more” and “Respect Us, Protect Us, Pay Us.” while chanting and holding powerful signage.
How one member’s efforts turned into a movement for racial justice in Mendocino County
In May of 2020, the country and most of the world were shocked as we witnessed the untimely loss of George Floyd’s life at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. As the pain and outrage of another state-sanctioned murder sparked movements and marches across the globe, Troyle Tognoli, the Mendocino County Chapter Vice President, was activated to call on her peers and organize her community to bring awareness and change through the Black Lives Matter movement.
San Francisco Newsletter: May 2021
Welcome to the May issue of our monthly newsletter for SEIU 1021 members in San Francisco. You can read our April issue here, or keep reading below to see recaps of the big fights our members have taken on in the last month.
North Coast News – May 2021
Check out what SEIU 1021 members are working on from Marin to Del Norte County!
We have a new regional logo! We’re excited
to unveil our new North Coast logo, created with assistance from
our regional leadership, which can be seen on the left side of
our newsletter banner above.
In the coming weeks and months, and particularly as Chapters
begin to prepare for bargaining, the SEIU 1021 shirts, posters,
and other swag will begin featuring this new logo. Keep your eyes
peeled—we’re excited to roll out this new logo to unite North
Coast members from all corners of our region, from Marin to Del
Norte.
From union card to vaccine card: members secure vaccination appointments thanks to SEIU 1021
Since the beginning of the pandemic, SEIU 1021 members and member
leaders have been leading the charge and advocating for standards
and protections that frontline essential workers deserve as they
keep our communities running. As a public-sector union, our
members are some of the hardest-hit workers in the country; when
announcements of vaccination availability began to come down the
pipeline, members went to work monitoring and sharing
information as far and wide as possible.
California Governor Supports Workers by Signing SB 93 Bill into Law
When COVID-19 hit the state of California, prompting a shelter-in-place order to go into effect last year, it led to numerous challenges for families and our communities, many of whom were laid off. As the state gradually gets back on its feet, a new piece of legislation, Senate Bill (SB) 93 will be implemented to help offset these challenges.