From the Streets to the Ballot Box
The stakes for working families have never been higher — and neither has our determination.
As we head into a crucial political season, SEIU 721 is all‑in for candidates who have our backs. We’ll be pounding the pavement for member‑endorsed champions like Mayor Karen Bass, LA City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, and LA City Council candidate Faizah Malik — leaders who fight for good union jobs, strong public services, and the communities we serve. And we’ll move straight from the March elections into the hard work of November.
At the same time, SEIU 721 members are on the front lines of the fight to protect working families. Fast food workers, backed by SEIU, have already led more than 213 delegations across Los Angeles and Santa Clara County, demanding that corporations like McDonald’s sign a Constitutional Pledge to keep ICE out of non‑public areas and train managers to protect their workers.
I spoke to The Guardian newspaper recently about our fight. I told them working people across Los Angeles are demanding that global fast food giants sign the Constitutional Pledge and choose courage over silence and dignity over fear. It’s time for fast food corporations to stand up for the frontline workers who serve their customers.
Whether at the ballot box, the bargaining table, or in our neighborhoods, SEIU 721 members are proving that when we stand together, we can take on anything —
and win.
Around Our Union
SEIU 721 Stands up for worker champions who stand with us!
“Working people across Los Angeles are demanding global fast food employers sign the Constitutional Pledge…choosing courage over silence and dignity over fear. Fast food companies must stand with cooks and cashiers in this moment.”
David Green
President SEIU 721
GIG WORKERS RALLY AGAINST WAYMO ROBOTAXIS IN SAN FRANCISCO
On March 2, Uber and Lyft drivers united in California Gig Workers Union joined SEIU 721 and SEIU 1021 city and county workers, San Francisco Firefighters, and Teamsters freight and delivery workers at San Francisco City Hall to demand autonomous rideshare vehicles (ARVs) be removed from city streets.
The rally preceded a San Francisco Board of Supervisors hearing examining Waymo’s December 2025 system-wide shutdown, when robotaxis stalled across intersections during storms. Workers demanded real oversight, transparent safety data, emergency response protocols, and meaningful worker involvement before more ARVs come online.
Currently, local governments lack authority to order ARVs off roads during emergencies, and Waymo claims its safety data is confidential. With 30 companies holding active permits, workers warned that technology is outpacing public safety and threatening livelihoods.
Rise and Resist 2.0 is SEIU 721’s new member-led campaign to take on the billionaire-backed push for so-called “Right to Work” and Project 2025. Built on our existing contract and political committees, Rise and Resist 2.0 trains rank-and-file leaders to educate coworkers, expose the corporations and extremists bankrolling anti-union attacks, and mobilize rapid-response actions when our rights, jobs, or communities are threatened. When we are organized in every worksite and every region, we’re ready not just to defend what we’ve won, but to go on offense for even stronger contracts and protections.
Victory at LAWA!
SEIU 721 members turned out in full force at a Los Angeles World Airports Commission meeting at LAX, standing union strong against a motion that would have given LAWA CEO John Ackerman unchecked power to contract out good union jobs in the name of “safety.” Our members emphatically said “hell no” — and the commission heard us. At the last hour, because of our union power, the motion was dropped.
Even after the win, members didn’t let up. Dozens of LAX leaders delivered scathing public comment about contracting out and the short‑staffing crisis at the airports. With the World Cup and Olympics around the corner, LAWA cannot put vital airport services in jeopardy. SEIU 721 is demanding a commitment to staff up with good union jobs — nothing less.
“This was a huge win, but the fight isn’t over,” said SEIU 721 Executive Board Member Joe Martinez. “We’re going to keep organizing and fighting to protect our workers and fix the short‑staffing crisis.”
SEIU 721 Wins Fight to Bring Back Good Jobs at LA County DPSS
SEIU 721 is making real progress in the fight against contracting out at LA County’s Department of Public Social Services.
On January 14, 2026, our union began a negotiation process with DPSS to start bringing back jobs that had been contracted out to Maximus, a national corporation that provides GAIN services using non-union workers doing the same work as our members.
These negotiations will be ongoing throughout the year and will impact over 100 currently non-union contracted employees. They will also create new opportunities for our represented union members, who will have chances to transfer to new county office locations.
This is excellent news because it illustrates vividly the power of our union when we are persistent and united. It was SEIU 721 that shined a light on the massive scale of contracting out at LA County — more than $6.2 billion was funneled to private firms in a single fiscal year — and it was SEIU 721 that kept up the pressure to fight to convert those jobs back into good union positions.
This is what we at SEIU 721 call The Union Difference. It makes ALL the difference!
If you receive correspondence from right-wing extremists like the Freedom Foundation trying to trick you into dropping your union membership, don’t be fooled. Stay united. Stay union strong. Protect union jobs.
On Jan. 21, hundreds of County of Riverside members came together in Moreno Valley to launch our 2026 Contract Campaign!
At the kick-off, members reflected on our victories and lessons learned over the past three contract cycles and strategized on how to win a fair deal in the upcoming year.
Riverside County members know firsthand the difference that union power makes. Beginning with a powerful ULP strike in 2017, Riverside County members have done the hard work of changing the landscape of the region and building previously impossible public and political support.
Each contract cycle brings new challenges, and, with pending federal and state budget cuts, this one is no different, but County of Riverside members are ready to do what it takes to win a fair contract!
Do your part to support Riverside County workers! Sign the petition demanding a fair contract now.
Tri-Counties Regional Council — 2026
With over 20 jurisdictions in the Tri-Counties region, it’s more important than ever that we have member representatives from across the region. On Tuesday, February 10th, our new Tri-Counties Regional Council was sworn in by SEIU 721 President and Executive Director David Green at our Ventura office.
Our new Regional Council members are:
Rebecca Albarran – County of Ventura, HS Client Benefit Supervisor
Esperanza Barajas – County of Ventura, HS Client Benefit Spec IV
Edwin Jacob – County of Ventura, Coder-Certified
Melissa Rodriguez – County of Santa Barbara, Social Services Supervisor II
Amy Sagar – Ventura Superior Court – Supervisor II – Collections Services
Maria Zavala – County of Ventura – HS Adult Protective Services Social Worker III
Maria Zavala was elected as Chair and Amy Sagar was elected as Vice Chair of the Regional Council.
TA Reached With LACERA
SEIU 721 members at the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (commonly known as “LACERA”) are voting this month on a new Tentative Agreement. After hard-fought negotiations, our Union secured key victories on our top priorities.
These include a 12.5% raise over the life of our proposed three-year contract:
ν 4.5% retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026
ν 4% effective Jan. 1, 2027
ν 4% effective Jan. 1, 2028
We also successfully negotiated enhanced protections on out-of-class work — and we tightened contract language, adding clear restrictions and guardrails. These changes give us stronger tools to prevent abuse and ensure proper compensation for higher-level duties.
For more details on our new TA, contact a LACERA Bargaining Team member or visit
our website.
Reminder — the right to vote on this contract belongs to Union members. If you or your coworker is not yet a member of SEIU 721, now is the time to join. Our collective power won this deal, and our collective vote will seal it. So, sign your Union card today!
LMU Faculty Take Action for Fair Contract
SEIU 721 members at Loyola Marymount University are ramping up pressure on the administration to negotiate a fair contract for non‑tenure track faculty and visiting
assistant professors.
In a recent campus action, faculty, students, and community allies rallied to demand that LMU President Timothy Law Snyder return to the bargaining table and agree to a contract with living wages, better benefits, job security, and strong worker protections.
The action follows months of negotiations where SEIU 721 members pushed for improved compensation, clearer evaluations, and unified representation for NTT faculty and visiting assistant professors. LMU’s decision to withdraw from NLRB jurisdiction under a claimed “religious exemption” has drawn sharp criticism from SEIU 721 President David Green, who has pledged to challenge the move.
Nearly 400 NTT faculty voted by almost 90% to join SEIU 721 in summer 2024, and the union is determined to win an agreement that lives up to LMU’s Catholic social teaching and its stated commitment to justice.
“SEIU 721 is fully behind NTT faculty and visiting assistant professors at LMU. It’s time for university leaders to bargain
a fair contract!” said President Green.
SEIU 721 nurses have elected a new Nurse Alliance of California Steering Committee to lead our legislative and regulatory advocacy in Sacramento and at the Board of Registered Nursing. These leaders will help shape statewide policy, defend our profession, and fight for the changes patients and nurses need.
County of Los Angeles
Department of Health Services:
Dr. Ileana Meza
Marjan Clarke
Thanh Nguy
Terri Thompson
Fiona Henlon
Department of Mental Health:
Judith Anugom
Department of Public Health:
Elsa Harmon
Open Seat (DMH):
Amberlee Ayala
County of Riverside
James Martin
Hutton Brown
Thank you to every nurse who stepped up to serve — and congratulations to all our newly elected steering committee members!
Standing Up To A.I.
SEIU 721 FIGHTS BACK AGAINST FACE CAMS AT LA SANITATION DISTRICTS
SEIU 721 is fighting facial recognition cameras — “face cams” — at the LA County Sanitation Districts. This surveillance technology raises serious concerns about worker privacy, civil liberties, and abuse of discipline. It’s also less accurate for people of color, increasing the risk of biased monitoring and wrongful accusations.
Management wanted Samsara tech company cameras facing workers in running vehicles, with Artificial Intelligence monitoring and automatically disciplining drivers in real-time —with no recourse if the system interpreted things incorrectly.
“The camera has AI talk to you if it sees anything going on,” said Rocky Molina, Senior Pumping Plant Operator at LACSD’s Long Beach Water Reclamation Plant. “We’re OK with front-facing cameras out on the road but not on the inside… We didn’t know what they’d do with that information… Everyone was OK with safety but not with cameras facing us — and not with voice recording.”
As the Sanitation District finalizes the policy, our union will insist that no surveillance system is implemented without bargaining, transparency, and strong protections for workers’ rights.
Stay tuned for updates as our Union continues to push back.
This Black History Month, SEIU 721 honored the generations of Black workers whose labor and leadership built this nation and our movement. One hundred years after Dr. Carter G. Woodson launched Negro History Week in 1926 to counter the erasure of Black contributions, the fight continues —especially as the current administration attempts to rewrite history.
We celebrated past and present leaders who embody this legacy: Linda Dent, who made history as the first Black person and first woman to serve as President of SEIU 721; current Executive Board member Jerry Clyde, Jr.; and LA City sanitation worker Chermaine Fontenette, whose daily work keeps our communities running.
The SEIU 721 African American Caucus held a special in-person gathering to celebrate the month, and 721 hosted a union-wide screening of Following Harry, honoring Harry Belafonte’s life, legacy, and enduring call to action.
At SEIU 721, we recognize that Black History is American History — and it deserves acknowledgment every day of the year. Together We Win.
SEIU 721 Chief of Staff Gilda Valdez
Our Union
Rise and Resist: Our Blueprint for Beating Right to Work
I won’t sugarcoat it: the billionaire-backed campaign to weaken unions is ramping up again — and it’s coming for all of us.
That’s why SEIU 721 is launching Rise and Resist 2.0 — a revamped education and rapid-response program to get every member ready to fight “Right to Work,” privatization and the rest of the Project 2025 anti-worker agenda. Groups like the billionaire-backed Freedom Foundation want to gut collective bargaining, roll back worker protections, and silence working families.
Rise and Resist 2.0 takes the committees we’ve already built and levels them up. We’re training member leaders to talk to coworkers about their rights, expose who’s really paying for these attacks — including the Koch network, the DeVos family and other ultra-conservative billionaires — and mobilize fast when they try to come for our jobs or our contract.
We’ve beaten these forces before, and we’ll beat them again — but only if everybody leans in. Reach out to your steward or visit seiu721.org and get plugged into Rise and Resist 2.0.
