Newswire
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.
Gig workers rally to say: Uber and Lyft cannot claim flexibility to deactivate drivers
They also demanded that demand San Francisco International Airport stop its unilateral bans on ride share drivers
On Tuesday, June 6, at 11 am, ride share drivers rallied at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Transportation Network Companies (TNC) Staging Lot 1, calling on Uber Technologies, Inc., and Lyft, Inc., to stop arbitrary temporary or permanent bans from airport driving and unilateral decisions to deactivate workers’ accounts.
Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage event brings community, families together in celebration
Members and their families gathered to honor AAPI culture with fun, food and dance
On Saturday, June 3, hundreds of SEIU 1021 members, their families, and community and member leaders gathered at Snow Park in Oakland to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage and stand in solidarity with healthcare workers and their fight for a $25 minimum wage.
SEIU healthcare workers rally for Senate Bill 525 in Sacramento at state capitol
Healthcare workers in California escalated their support for a crucial piece of legislation last Thursday, May 25, gathering at the state capitol in downtown Sacramento. Spearheaded by state senator Maria Elena Durazo of Los Angeles, the bill aims to establish an unprecedented $25 minimum hourly wage for healthcare employees.
This significant wage increase would not only aid in retaining existing healthcare workers but also attract new professionals to the field, paving the way for a fairer and more sustainable healthcare workforce.
Hayward Unified Schools classified workers protest district’s failure to provide affordable healthcare at school board meeting
The district’s failure to make health insurance affordable for its lowest-paid employees is driving a staffing crisis that endangers students and staff alike
Hayward Unified Schools District (HUSD) classified workers – members of SEIU 1021 and AEOTE — rallied again ahead of last Wednesday’s school board meeting demanding affordable healthcare.
Cal Academy of Sciences workers file petition for union election with NLRB to join SEIU 1021
A supermajority of eligible employees, from biologists to guest experience workers, have signed union authorization cards to join SEIU 1021
Thursday, May 25, workers at the California Academy of Sciences celebrated with a lunch in Golden Gate Park after filing their petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). They presented the NLRB with signed union authorization cards from a supermajority of non-supervisory employees.
AAPI Heritage Month: Centering Asian American and Pacific Islander voices
24 hours left to RSVP for Here All Year: Celebrating AAPI Heritage With Family! Registration closes Thursday, June 1, at noon
Our Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration continues, and this week we are lifting up another local union leader! We spoke with Evelyn Curiel, industry chair for the City and County of San Francisco. Evelyn will be one of our community speakers at SEIU 1021’s free, family-friendly AAPI celebration for SEIU members and their families on June 3rd at Snow Park in Oakland
San Francisco Unified Schools classified staff bring heat to negotiations
Recent bargaining sessions have been packed with members eager to share their stories--and make demands
Last Thursday, May 18, when San Francisco Unified School District’s management contract negotiations team came to the table, they got a little more than they’d bargained for. Over 85 rank and file SEIU 1021 SFUSD members, including custodians, nutrition service workers, and clerical staff, showed up and gave them an earful about how the poverty wages the district pays its classified employees, combined with ongoing payroll problems and staffing shortages that make workloads unsustainable, are damaging the district’s schools and students.
Don’t write them off: The Writers Guild of America enters week three of its industry-wide strike
“Live [word missing] and prosper.”
“May the [word missing] be with you.”
“What we’ve got here is [word missing] to communicate.”
“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful [word missing].”
Solano County Health & Social Services members rally for SB 525 and score a victory
SB 525 passed the Senate appropriations committee!
Essential healthcare and behavior health workers – from hospital janitorial staff to security officers, medical assistants, resident physicians, and nursing home caregivers – from Solano County Health & Social Services rallied last Thursday, May 18, in support of legislation that is essential to fixing California’s patient care crisis. Senate Bill 525 by Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) would help California address the field’s staffing crisis by establishing the nation’s first $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers.
AAPI Heritage Month: Centering Asian American and Pacific Islander voices
A conversation with union steward president Mariette Shin
As we continue our Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebrations, we are lifting up local union leaders! This week we are speaking with Mariette Shin, union steward president of the Marin Municipal Water District chapter. Mariette will be one of our community speakers at SEIU 1021’s free, family-friendly AAPI celebration for SEIU members and their families on June 3rd at Snow Park in Oakland (RSVP HERE).
Dixon USD classified workers demand better for students and staff
Workers unite to tell the school board to bargain in good faith
Dixon Unified School District classified workers are speaking out and showing up! On Thursday, May 18, Dixon USD classified employees and allies attended the Dixon school board meeting to demand the district take urgent action to address high turnover and short staffing caused by inadequate wages.
SEIU 1021 members show up for the Big Oil Resistance Tour
On May 12, 2023, SEIU 1021 members joined the Oakland stop of the Big Oil Resistance Tour presented by the 900 organizations comprising the Last Chance Alliance. The tour began in San Diego, held events in 8 cities including Los Angeles, Ventura, Bakersfield, Oakland, and concluded on May 13 in Sacramento with 1021 members there too!
Nonprofit workers say: If you want to solve San Francisco’s biggest problems, pay frontline workers a living wage
Workers at city-funded nonprofits say the city’s efforts to tackle the crises of drug addiction, housing insecurity and mental health are hamstrung by short-staffing and turnover caused by low pay
On May 15, 2023, frontline SEIU 1021members employed by nonprofits funded by the City and County of San Francisco rallied on the steps of San Francisco City Hall to call on city leaders to fund cost of living adjustments (COLAs).
The workers say poverty wages are causing excessive turnover and recruitment problems in programs dedicated to addressing the city’s problems with drug addiction, untreated mental health disorders, and homelessness.
SEIU 1021 members take action for SB 525 in Stockton
Last Wednesday, May 10, healthcare workers rallied in support of SB 525 in Stockton. SB 525 is legislation for a $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers to address the patient care crisis and healthcare workforce shortage. Healthcare workers are burned out and traumatized after the stress of the pandemic and the way healthcare employers disregard staffing needs. Lack of adequate staffing produced tragic results during the pandemic, and healthcare workers are leaving their profession in alarming numbers.