At a recent political candidate town hall SEIU members from Locals 721, 99 and ULTCW voted to endorse and recommend Geoff Dean for Ventura County Sheriff and Das Williams for 35th Assembly District.  In order to be considered, each candidate completed a questionnaire and spent time with public service workers at their job. 

"These candidates care about the issues that affect us locally.  Our economy, education, youth, we need leaders who will put them first and I'm confident Geoff and Das will do that.... that's why I support them."  --Ruben Juarez, HFP AIM Program Rep, Public Health/Ventura County

Over the next few months, SEIU members will volunteer for precinct walking, phone banking and for special events to help get Dean and Williams elected during the June Primary. 

SEIU members will have another chance to make recommendations for endorsement for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner and State Superintendent of Public Instruction at another town hall on March 20.  Click here to RSVP or for more details.

 

SEIU members in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties will have the opportunity to hear from candidates running for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Insurance Commissioner, and State Superintendant of Public instruction on March 20. 

The public services SEIU members do, the education all California children receive and the health and well-being of communities all depend on leaders who know that rebuilding California requires investment. Candidates for these offices will be joining SEIU members at Rebuild California Town Halls throughout the state to ask for SEIU endorsement. 

"Do you care about the future of our State and the communities we live and serve?  Do you think California officials put the concerns of working families above their own political agenda?  I'm not sure that many of our current leaders think about the people they were elected to serve when they make legislative decisions that's why I'll be attending the Rebuild California forum on March 20, 2010."  Carolyn Consoli, Community Services Worker III, Ventura County Public Health Dept.

SEIU members know that support for public services is critical to whether or not California can recover and rebuild.  All SEIU members are encouraged to help choose the team that will rebuild California by attending one of the town halls.

Take Action:
RSVP for the March 20 Town Hall Meeting (click here)
Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
2101 Mandalay Beach Road, Oxnard, CA 93035
Jeannette Sanchez, Political Coordinator or your Worksite Organizer at (805) 644-8291

On March 4 and 5, our SEIU brothers and sisters at the California Faculty Association (CFA) will be joining a unified effort of education supporters from all segments of public education in California. They will hold rallies, demonstrations, teach-ins, and other types of events on every CSU campus and at other locations across the state. Our goal is to raise awareness about the crisis in public education and the need to fully fund our schools, colleges and universities.

We invite you to take part in these historic days of action:

Thursday, March 4, Los Angeles Regional Rally
Assemble at Pershing Square (5th & Hill) in downtown L.A. - 4 pm
March to the Governor's office (300 Spring St.) for 5 pm Rally.
For more information contact: Saira G. Soto at 213-368-8623
For information on other rallies, please visit CFA's website at
http://www.calfac.org/march4.html.

Friday March 5th, Los Angeles Kick-Off Rally for March to Sacramento
A coalition of labor, education, business and faith communities will hold a kick-off rally in Los Angeles to mark the beginning of the "March for California's Future." The march will begin in Bakersfield and end on April 21st in Sacramento with a rally in support of public schools, universities and other public services.
For more information, visit http://www.fight4cafuture.com/ or
call Marc Mitchell at (213) 738-8423

The Kick-off Rally begins at 10 am in Los Angeles at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. Located at 4269 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles. MAP

After the rally a bus will take the first group of marchers to Bakersfield (location TBD). Join us or spread the word!

Don't sit on the sidelines! Join us at a SEIU Candidate Town Hall Meeting on Wed. Feb. 24

SEIU 721 members will have the chance to meet candidates running for Ventura County Sheriff's and 35th Assembly District and ask them critical questions about issues that affect them on the job and at home:

• Fighting the Governor's efforts to balance the State Budget on the backs of workers, the elderly, the disabled, and our kids
• Cutting unnecessary spending to preserve quality public services and safety jobs
• Creating jobs to get the economy moving!

We Need YOU to Help Shape California's Political Future: Join the Citizens Redistricting Commission and Ensure it Reflects the True Diversity of Our State

In 2008, California voters passed Proposition 11, creating California's first-ever Citizens Redistricting Commission.  The 14-member commission is responsible for drawing the state Senate, Assembly and Board of Equalization districts.  The legislative lines drawn by the commission will determine political representation in California for the next decade. 

Members of this new Commission will make important decisions that will affect the political representation of every community in California for the next decade. Step forward and help us ensure that working families, youth, Latinos, African Americans, women and other groups are not left out of this critical process. Experience drawing districts is not necessary to apply.
Apply here: www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov

If we do not have strong representatives on the Commission, then we can end up with representatives that decrease the amount of funding our county and city government services.

Working Families Impacted by Commission

Redistricting electoral districts can empower or disempower working class communities. During the Civil Rights movement, redistricting was often used to split communities of color in order to dilute their voting power.  The lines that are drawn determine the amount of state officials working class communities are able to elect.  There have been over 11,500 applications submitted, and of those, only 30% are female and only 27% are from communities of color.  More applicants that are reflective of the state's composition are greatly needed.

Take action by applying for the Citizen's Redistricting Commission at www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov. The initial application takes no more than 10 minutes to complete.  The deadline to complete this very short initial application is Friday, February 12th.  Please don't let this historic opportunity pass without attempting to be part of it by applying.

Following the conclusion of President Obama's State of the Union address, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger issued this statement:

"Tonight, President Obama gave a dramatic reminder of why so many of us joined his unprecedented call for change two years ago. The fact is, this president's priorities-creating millions of new jobs, reforming our broken healthcare system, and holding accountable the parties that crashed our economy in the first place-are our priorities. They're the priorities of the men and women across this country who get up each morning with no greater hope or desire than to provide decent lives for themselves and their kids.

"One year into his presidency, President Obama has acted quickly to move us out of the Dark Ages of the Bush administration. But today, we need even bolder solutions to address the solutions that America's working families need.

"Pat DeJong, who lost her family's farm when her husband's medical bills piled up, needs affordable and quality care she can count on.

"Victoria Márquez, a janitor and union organizer in Los Angeles who has not seen her family in El Salvador for more than 15 years, needs Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

"Maria Guerra, a janitor from Chicago whose brother lost his home after he was laid off, needs us to solve the jobs crisis and to hold banks accountable."

"And last night in Oregon, women and men who get up and go to work every day decided to take a stand for the Middle Class by bucking the trend and voting to make investments in education and public services at a time when our communities are hurting.

"Their message to Congress and the President is clear: voters are seeing positive and progressive change that helps real working families and voters are ready to hold corporations accountable.

"During the 2008 campaign, President Obama issued the call: We are the ones we've been waiting for. Well this is the moment we've been waiting for. Pat, Victoria, and Maria can't afford to wait any longer to live their American Dreams."

2009 began with hope and optimism, a new President, the possibility of true healthcare reform and stronger worker protections.  But 2009 also came with many challenges....the worst economy since the great depression, the California state budget was (and is) a mess and city and county budgets were unraveling.  However, social service workers helped thousands of Tri-County residents requesting relief and public assistance for the very first time, public health workers moved quickly into action to address the H1N1 epidemic and hundreds of SEIU 721 members came up with ideas for economic solutions that would help cities and counties continue to provide vital services and reduce taxpayer waste. 

In 2010, SEIU members will build upon the victories of last year and become even stronger advocates for efficient public services and the public that needs them.  Below are just a few highlights from 2009:

1. Ventura County members have been in negotiations for eight months.  More than 1,500 members have participated in rallies, meetings and collecting petition signatures in order to win a contract that shares sacrifices and plans for the future.
 2. The Tri-County region has increased by 500 members.  Employees from the City of Ventura (S and Q units), Oxnard (temporary workers) and student workers for Ventura County exercised their right to form a union and have a stronger voice about their working conditions by joining SEIU 721.  
3. Ventura County Eligibility Workers were recognized by the state and federal government for their 99 percent accuracy record in helping families qualify for the correct and full amount of food stamps.
4. More than 400 Tri-County region members advocated for employee rights, public services and the clients that need the services by meeting with elected officials in Sacramento, Washington, D.C. and locally.  Members were able to relay stories about the impact funding cuts had on real people. Several elected officials have committed to spending time with workers on the job in 2010.
5. Santa Barbara workers have become empowered to have a stronger voice and speak out for the people that rely on public services because of the positive response from the Board of Supervisors.
6. Members from the Cities of Ventura, Santa Paula, Simi Valley and Ventura County compiled cost saving measures and revenue ideas to save their employees millions of dollars.  Workers are determined to see more ideas implemented in 2010 in order to preserve services and jobs.

 

 

 

SEIU 721 members persevered through rainy streets to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy at the 25th Kingdom Day Parade in Los Angeles on Jan. 18. Members from SEIU 721's African American, Asian Pacific Islander, Latino, Lavender and Native American Indian Caucuses pressed for quality community health care and reopening the King hospital in South Los Angeles.


Watch a commercial that aired on KABC 7 in the days leading up to MLK Day and featuring several SEIU health care workers. The workers celebrate the legacy of Dr. King's dream by highlighting the reopening of Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital -- a major victory for Los Angeles County hospital workers, the communities directly impacted by the loss of critical hospital services, and the working families of Los Angeles.

This year's theme was the reopening of MLK hospital, honoring Mark Ridley Thomas and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who donated generously to assist the hospital.

The Senate just passed their health care bill on a 60-39 party line vote. With just one exception, Republican members of Congress uniformly voted "no" on every single procedural and general vote on health insurance reform since July.This was a coordinated effort by the GOP to kill this legislation for political gain, and guess what? They failed.

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In the face of the worst economic crisis in our lifetime that led to personal hardship and severe budget shortfalls, SEIU 721 members built the political strength to meet the challenges this year and next.

Download and view "SEIU 721 In Action" (pdf, 512kb)