Home Spotlight
Protections for California Renters, Including Rent Control, Could Be A Reality
Housing costs are skyrocketing, and many Californians want to make renter protections a reality. The majority of California’s 17 million renters do not have access to stable and affordable housing. Over half of California renters are rent-burdened, meaning they spend over 30 percent of their income on rent, and one-third of renters spend over 50 percent of their income on rent. 160,000 families appear in eviction court annually.
We Are SEIU 1021 – Qing Yi Feng
San Francisco City Hall Custodial Assistant Supervisor
Each week we’ll feature every day heroes: SEIU 1021 members who care for our sick and elderly, educate our children, keep our cities moving, and ensure that courts work for everyone.
Follow #WeAreSEIU1021 on Facebook and Instagram
“When I found out I would be working in City Hall after completing a custodial training program, I was really happy. I never thought I could work at a place like this—San Francisco City Hall.
We Are SEIU 1021: Lorena Arroyo
Library Technician, Excelsior Library, San Francisco
Each week we’ll feature every day heroes: SEIU 1021 members who care for our sick and elderly, educate our children, keep our cities moving, and ensure that courts work for everyone.
Follow #WeAreSEIU1021 on Facebook and Instagram
Home for The Holidays: Registered Nurse Maria Mendoza Sanchez is Home!
This past weekend, Maria Mendoza Sanchez, registered nurse at Alameda Health System and SEIU 1021 member, arrived home after being separated from her family, her coworkers, and the job she loved for more than a year.
“We are overjoyed to be welcoming Maria home. She is a part of our community, an asset to Highland Hospital, and to our Oncology unit especially,” said Veronica Perez, an RN in the Highland Oncology unit. Maria was welcomed home by her children and her coworkers she arrived at the airport this past Saturday.
SEIU California Statement on Decision in Texas v. US
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California released the following statement from SEIU California and SEIU 1021 President Roxanne Sanchez on the decision in Texas v. US:
Hayward Workers Reach $2 Million Settlement with the City
In 2014, the City of Hayward claimed contract negotiations had broken down, and unilaterally imposed a contract on its employees. Workers united in SEIU 1021 never stopped fighting this unfair, one-way decision, and took the case all the way to PERB, the Public Employment Relations Board.
Because of this ongoing, determined effort, the City has settled, agreeing to pay back, with interest, all SEIU 1021 employees of the City of Hayward who lost wages and benefits during the contract imposition period (from February 2, 2014 to June 30, 2015).
Saving Sonoma County Parks and Jobs
“I’m calling members, texting people I know, pulling on people’s
ears to educate them on the importance of Sonoma County’s Measure
M,” said Michael Stanford, who works in Sonoma County Parks “I
tell them that if they love the great outdoors and want more
parkland with more trails, and also want to create green union
jobs, they should vote yes.”
Measure M, if approved by voters, will raise funds for county and
city parks throughout Sonoma County, bringing in approximately
$11.5 million dollars annually to the parks system.
Rise Like the Phoenix: Our 2018 Member Convention
More than 600 member leaders convened in Concord on the weekend of September 22-23 for our member convention to chart the course for the future of our union and to hear from inspiring speakers on how we must transform and innovate to thrive during challenging times.
Providing Relief During the Mendocino Complex Fires
On July 27, Brian Klovski got a call from his boss that a
mandatory evacuation was in place due to a massive wildfire, and
it was spreading fast. “We train throughout the year to prepare
for calls like that. Within hours, we got to work to
help evacuees displaced by the Mendocino Complex Fires with
temporary shelter.”
Brian works for the Health and Human Services Department helping
coordinate homeless services throughout the Mendocino County.
During a countywide disaster, he leads the Mendocino County Care
and Shelter Team.
Call TO ACTION: Call 1-866-426-2631. Tell your senators to #SaveSCOTUS
SEIU members are calling their US Senators to protest Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Working people know all too well how important the Supreme Court is to upholding key American values,” said SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry. “In just the last few weeks it attacked the rights of working people in the Janus case and enshrined discrimination against immigrants by ruling in favor of the Muslim ban. Judge Kavanaugh is a narrow-minded elitist who would further rig our economy and democracy against working Americans.”
August 16: Demand That Wall Street Lower Management Retirement Fees
Attend CalSavers Board Meeting at the CA Treasurer's office in Sacramento
SEIU members will be attending CalSavers Board meeting at the California Treasurers’ office in Sacramento to protest high management retirement fees. High fees that cheat workers out of retirement savings are one more way Wall Street has rigged the economy against working people. On August 16, workers have a chance to fight back and secure a better future for all Californians.
Here are three ways SEIU members can defend retirement security for all:
Political Action Leads To A $50 Million Summer Break Fund for K-12 Classified Employees
Last September 2017, SEIU 1021 Education Industry
members called on Governor Jerry Brown to bridge the
compensation gap during the summer break. Many of our members who
work in K-12 do not get paid while school is out for
summer. The 2018-19 state budget signed by Governor Brown
includes $50 million dollars for a Summer Bridge Fund for
classified employees.
Fighting Unjust Termination
In September 2016, Ms. Rob was called in to a meeting by her supervisor. “I asked my supervisor if I should be concerned of any disciplinary action, so I could secure a union steward, and my supervisor told me ‘no’,” said Ms. Rob.
Despite her supervisor’s assurance, Ms. Rob was disciplined at that meeting and she was denied her right to have a union representative.
The Battle for Affordable Housing
“It serves our local community to have county workers live locally. When disaster hits, we are there to open the local assistance centers, staff the shelters, clear the roads, answer the call-center phones, and help keep residents’ children and animals safe,” said Janie Camacho in her testimony to The Alliance for A Just Recovery Forum. “We like to do this. And we like to live here. But it is getting too expensive for us to stay.”
Green Lobby Day in Sacramento
The 2018 Green California Advocacy Day will be
held on Wednesday, August 8th from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm in
Sacramento, followed by a celebratory awards reception from 5:00
– 7:00 pm. This is the environmental community’s annual
opportunity to come together and deliver a clear, compelling and
consistent message about our priorities to legislators and their
staff.
And this is where you come in — we will be fielding teams to meet
with dozens of legislative offices on August 8 and our air, land,
and water need your voice and powers of persuasion!
SEIU members, leaders react to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court
Take Action: Contact Your Senators to #SaveSCOTUS
Last week on the steps of the Supreme Court and at
rallies across the country, SEIU members joined activists to
protest Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
San Francisco City Workers Fight Discrimination on the job- Hearing Planned for July 18
At a press conference in front of San Francisco City Hall on June 19, workers from the San Francisco Medical Examiners’ office and the Department of Public Health,spoke about lack of diversity, hiring and promotions based on racial stereotypes, and disproportionate disciplining of African American workers
Take the Norma Rae Challenge
Having a union means having a voice and being treated with respect. It means having financial security and a chance at a middle class life. It means providing a home for our families, food on our tables and clothes for our children.
That’s why we’re asking all union members and their families to show that regardless of the Janus ruling, we’re sticking together. Our fight for economic and social justice will not be deterred.
Addressing Understaffing and Long Patient Wait Times
On April 18, more than a dozen radiology and ultrasound technicians testified before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee. The technicians work at Zuckerberg SF General (ZSFGH) and Laguna Honda Hospitals, where patients are suffering long wait times because of understaffing in radiology and ultrasound departments.
Members Prepare For Open Shop
On April 28, member leaders from around the local came together in Fairfield to share best practices for recruiting and engaging their coworkers. They discussed techniques to share their personal stories with their coworkers so they remain committed to each other and their fight for secure jobs and livable wages — no matter what the court rules in Janus vs.