On Sept. 25, the Los Angeles City Council took an initial vote to slash the pensions of future city workers. Hundreds of city workers showed up to protest the unilateral, illegal move. SEIU 721 members and others held a press conference outside and then marched into City Hall wearing "cheese head" hats to tell city leaders loud and clear: "We are not Wisconsin!"

Los Angeles is not Wisconsin. But if the mayor has his way, it will be.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the CAO are attacking city workers' pensions once again.

A new law, known as AB 340 The California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), which is supposed to "reform" public pensions in California, passed the State Legislature on Aug. 31. Governor Brown will soon sign it into law. Check this page often for the latest info.

Contact Us
For further information, call your worksite steward, your worksite organizer or the SEIU 721 Member Connection at 1-877-721-4YOU. Or contact Mark Klein, Local 721's Secure Retirement Coordinator, directly at (213) 368-8601 or by email at Mark.Klein@seiu721.org

Workers in California are celebrating today as lawmakers take another step towards delivering retirement security to more workers.
 
SB1234, which creates the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, now heads to the California Assembly after receiving approval from the Assembly Appropriations Committee. 
 
If passed, SB1234 would give millions of private sector workers without access to employer-sponsored retirement plan an opportunity to enroll in a voluntary retirement plan with guaranteed benefits. Secure Choice would act as a supplement to Social Security for low- and middle-income workers. This affordable plan would be professionally managed and portable so workers could take their retirement savings from job to job.

SEIU has long called for public infrastructure investments that could help create jobs and stimulate local economies, including using public pension assets to fund such projects. Now California, home of the nation's largest public pension fund, is seeking greater opportunities to spur economic growth by doing just that.

This week the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has earmarked up to $800 million for investments in California infrastructure such as transportation, energy, utilities and natural resources.

"We know that we need jobs to get our city and state back on track and infrastructure projects are the way to creating good paying jobs," said SEIU 721 President Bob Schoonover.
"Infrastructure drives economic development. Whether it's a massive project like a dam or power plant, or simply retrofitting schools or fixing roads, these projects pay dividends for decades."

Former LACERA candidate and HSA I Clarence Shaw gave his endorsement of LA County Social Worker David Green, who is running for a seat on the LACERA Board of Investment. Shaw's endorsement represents the wide-spread support from across Los Angeles County to elect a candidate we can count on to protect our retirement benefits.

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors took a page straight out of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's playbook on April 4 to vote in support of a proposal that implements a two-tier retirement system for new hires.

By Burris Debenning
Senior Buyer, City of Ventura

As a dedicated Ventura resident and City employee, I buy locally and contribute to Ventura's economy. Many of my co-workers live in this community too, and those who do not, purchase in Ventura to support local businesses.

I, along with several of my colleagues, left other jobs in the private sector to work in this community--not for the pay but for the opportunity to serve our community and, YES, to plan for our future retirement.  My wife and I may never be able to afford a house in this community but someday we do want to retire.

Does that make us unreasonable?  No. 

Do I want the same for all California workers?  YES!

As union members across the country face attacks, leaders and members of SEIU 721 are doing our part to help protect workers' rights.

• SEIU 721 President Bob Schoonover (left) rallied in Washington D.C. on Feb. 23 to oppose the legislative attacks conservative lawmakers have unleashed to dismantle the collective bargaining rights for working families in America. Schoonover joins tens of thousands of workers and supporters who have rallied nationally to decry the threats on hardworking nurses, social workers and trash collectors.
• SEIU 721 Vice President Linda Dent and members Blanca Gomez and Joaquin Avalos among a dozen others arrived in Madison, Wisconsin on Feb. 23 to ensure basic protections for working families. 

Retirement security and upcoming contract negotiations were on the minds of hundreds of SEIU and LIUNA members who attended the joint membership meeting at the Riverside Convention Center Tuesday night. SEIU 721 and LIUNA 777 represent the majority of civilian county and city employees in the Inland Empire.

Steve Matthews, SEIU regional director, told the crowd of that the future is in their hands. "You need to let small and large business owners know that you are public workers and your paycheck goes to purchase their goods. They are cutting their own throats if they are willing to cut your throat by supporting these cuts."

All across the Inland Area, from the City of Riverside to Hemet to the desert, elected officials and the media have been feeding the public a steady diet of negative stories about our work and our benefits. They are blaming public employees for the budget crisis. We know that's not true, but all these negative attacks are having an effect.

SEIU 721 and LIUNA 777 are joining together for a United for Retirement Security membership meeting Feb. 15th.

The 2011 Riverside County Bargaining Team (pictured above), met Thursday, Jan. 20th, for initial training and to review hundreds of Contract Surveys that members completed.
Recognizing the difficult economic climate we are currently facing, the Team is taking a fiscally responsible position that protects county services and puts members priorities first as we move toward a bargaining date.

Priorities that members identified are:

1. Ensuring Retirement Security
2. Restoring Step/Merit Increase
3. Protecting Health Care Benefits

Retired, or thinking about retiring? Stay involved with the union and enjoy benefits available only through SEIU 721.

Members of the Seniors Committee work with the SEIU 721 Government Relations Department and our affiliated retiree organizations on issues that affect health care and retirement by attending town hall meetings, lobbying, phone banking, participating in rallies and keeping abreast of retirement-system issues. We also stay involved with our active members in their events and activities.

Click here to learn more.

By Bob Schoonover
SEIU 721 President
and Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic, City of Los Angeles

This week the City of Los Angeles is proposing major changes to the retirement of civilian, police and fire employees. Future hires at LAPD, LAFD and across the city would retire later, pay more and get less. And here's the strange part: most of the changes won't generate savings for 20 years.

In a meeting on October 19, supervisors rejected major retirement changes for future LA County employees after SEIU 721 members and other county leaders said the facts don't support the plan.