Vote YES on Measure ER — SEIU 721 is Leading the Fight Because Our Jobs and Our Patients’ Lives are on the Line!
Trump’s brutal health care budget cuts are coming for Los Angeles — and they are going to hit hard. His HR 1 slashed $30 billion a year from California’s Medi-Cal program, putting 700,000 LA County residents at risk of losing their coverage and threatening the very hospitals and clinics where our members show up every single day to care for this community.
SEIU 721 is not standing by while Washington dismantles the health safety net we have spent decades building. We helped lead the fight to put Measure ER on the June 2 ballot — a homegrown local solution that will generate $1 billion a year to keep emergency rooms open, save community clinics, and protect thousands of our members’ jobs. Our nurses and healthcare workers are taking the message directly to voters, appearing in digital ads across LA County to tell the truth about what these cuts mean on the front lines of care.
When Washington attacks working families, we fight back locally. Vote YES on Measure ER on June 2.
In Solidarity,
AROUND OUR UNION
The June 2 election is a fight for public services, public workers and the communities we serve. SEIU 721 members are knocking doors from LA City neighborhoods to the Inland Area and back — everywhere our members clock in and care for the public — for a pro-worker slate led by Karen Bass for LA Mayor, YES on Measure ER, Marissa Roy for City Attorney, Eunisses Hernandez for City Council District 1, Faizah Malik for City Council District 11, Caroline Menjivar for State Senate and Deborah Klein Lopez for Assembly District 42.
The Measure ER fight is urgent and personal. Trump’s H.R. 1 threatens to strip LA County hospitals, clinics and public health programs of $2.4 billion over three years and push 700,000 residents off health insurance. Measure ER fights back — a temporary 0.5% sales tax generating $1 billion a year to protect the services and the workers who provide them.
Every candidate on this slate has a record to match. Bass proved it when her administration worked with SEIU 721 to turn a budget proposing more than 1,000 civil service layoffs into a deal that kept city workers on the job. Menjivar has stood with nurses fighting for safe staffing ratios. Hernandez has pushed to make LA’s budget transparent and accountable to working families — not just downtown insiders.
Canvassing is how we protect what we have built. Every door our members knock is a vote for jobs, services, hospitals and democracy itself. As President David Green put it: “Every election is a contract negotiation, and the people on this slate are on our side of the table.”
Nurses and healthcare workers step up to stop hospital and clinic closures.
SEIU 721 is joining with community clinic leaders across Los Angeles County to fight back against devastating healthcare cuts caused by Trump’s H.R. 1,
which slashed $30 billion annually from California’s Medi-Cal program. The answer on the June 2 ballot is Measure ER — a temporary half-cent sales tax that would generate $1 billion a year to keep emergency rooms open, prevent hospital and clinic closures, and protect LA’s health safety net.
SEIU 721 nurses and healthcare workers took part in photo and video shoots for digital ads, taking their message directly to voters. With 700,000 LA County residents at risk of losing health insurance and healthcare providers facing $2.4 billion in losses, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
About LA County Measure ER
WHAT IT IS: A temporary half-cent (0.5¢) sales tax for 5 years — about 5 cents on every $10 spent.
WHAT IT RAISES: $1 billion per year to restore healthcare funding slashed by Trump’s HR 1.
WHAT’S AT RISK: 700,000 LA County residents could lose health insurance; providers face $2.4 billion in losses.
WHAT IT PROTECTS: Emergency rooms, public hospitals, community clinics, disease tracking, disaster response, in-home support for seniors and people with disabilities.
WHAT’S EXEMPT: Groceries, prescription medications, and medical equipment.
WHEN IT EXPIRES: Automatically in October 2031 — no permanent tax.
La Brigada Builds Gig Worker Power
Gig workers from across the country join SEIU 721 and SEIU 1021 to organize California rideshare drivers on the verge of a historic union breakthrough.
Rideshare drivers organizing with SEIU from Illinois, Massachusetts and Minnesota joined California drivers for La Brigada, a two-week intensive training and organizing program to build the California Gig Workers Union.
The cross-country team began with training at sibling local SEIU 1021’s San Francisco office, then moved south to Los Angeles, where SEIU 721 members and SoCal driver leaders joined them in airport lots, event centers, rideshare waiting areas, and driver hubs to talk with thousands of local drivers about what a union can win.
The mobilization comes as California rideshare drivers are poised to make labor history. After a decade of organizing,
more than 800,000 drivers won a landmark pathway to unionize under AB 1340, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last year.
Now, drivers are racing to gather signed union authorization cards from at least 10% of California’s active rideshare drivers — the critical first step to trigger the AB 1340 recognition process and compel Uber and Lyft to bargain with our union.
Building Unity and Worker Power
SEIU 721’s Cross-Caucus CRI workshop unites members around racial justice, immigration, and resisting authoritarianism.
On April 25–26, SEIU 721 made history at union headquarters, hosting our first-ever Cross-Caucus Citizenship, Race & Immigration (CRI) Multi-Racial, and Multicultural Training. Led by SEIU 721 Treasurer Adolfo Granados, Chief of Staff Gilda Valdez, President David Green, and Vice President Simboa Wright, dozens of activists and leaders gathered for transformative political education.
The training was facilitated by Bill Pritchett — an SEIU trailblazer who created our union’s signature purple brand and pioneered SEIU’s groundbreaking Organizational Equity Program.
Morning sessions tackled citizenship, immigration and recognizing oppression. Afternoons shifted to action, with members calling for expanded Know Your Rights trainings, rapid response networks for ICE raids, and deeper coalitions with immigrant justice groups. Together, members committed to fighting the “Big Beautiful Bill’s” devastating cuts while protecting undocumented members through solidarity.
When we understand our history together and act on that knowledge, we build the cross-cultural power needed to win justice for all.
HERE WE GROW AGAIN
LVNs, nurses, outreach staff, call center workers and more at Bartz-Altadonna Community Health Center have filed to form a union with SEIU 721. These workers are taking action to win a real voice on the job, fair wages, strong benefits and better working conditions. Their next step is a union election, and worker leaders are fired up to move closer to joining the 721 union family.
UNION POWER ON DISPLAY
St. John’s Community Health members voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new three-year contract with an industry-leading $30-an-hour minimum wage. The agreement also includes a new longevity tier, greater flexibility for vacation requests, and other important gains. It’s a strong example of what workers can win when members stand together and bargain from a position of strength.
GEARING UP AT LGBT CENTER
Members at the Los Angeles LGBT Center are gearing up for bargaining their next contract. Congratulations to the 2026 Bargaining Team: Alejandra De La Vega Cano, Chris Reyes, M Torres (They/Them), Anita May Rosenstein, Tony Anderson, Elliot Musgrave (They/He), Mike Bezikian, with alternates Francisco Javier Barraza and Diana Ramirez. This team is ready to work hard for a strong agreement that reflects the vital work LGBT Center members do every day.
City of LA Charter Reform Commission led by SEIU 721’s Raymond Meza Releases Government Overhaul Plan
The LA City Charter Reform Commission has released its final report — the first top-to-bottom review of the city’s governing document in more than 25 years — with SEIU 721 Deputy Chief of Staff Raymond Meza at the helm.
Appointed by Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council, Raymond led the 13-member civilian commission through a rigorous public process, ensuring working Angelenos had a real seat at the table.
The report responds to years of City Hall scandals and growing frustration with closed-off government. Key recommendations include expanding City Council representation, strengthening ethics oversight, creating an Inspector General, improving service delivery,
and giving neighborhood councils more meaningful authority.
SEIU 721 is proud of Raymond’s leadership on this historic effort. When union members step up in their communities, working families win.
FOR OUR HEALTH
Free mental health workshops support LA sanitation workers’ emotional well-being
SEIU 721 is partnering with Kaiser Permanente to bring free mental health workshops to our union hall on May 6 and May 13 for LA City sanitation workers.
Mental health is part of total health, and supporting emotional well-being has never been more important. Nationwide, about 75% of workers have struggled with an issue impacting their mental health—yet 8 in 10 say shame and stigma prevent them from seeking care.
These workshops are breaking down those barriers. Sessions cover wellness in the workplace, common mental health challenges, emotional well-being, and speaking more openly about mental health without fear or judgment.
Tri-Counties Members Run for Autism Awareness
SEIU 721 TCRC workers join thousands of runners at Aut2Run in Camarillo.
Tri-Counties Regional Center staff — who provide vital support for families and individuals with developmental disabilities — joined thousands at California State University Channel Islands on April 26 for the Aut2Run race in Camarillo.
SEIU 721 covered free entries for 5K and 10K runners during Autism Awareness Month. Sporting purple headbands, members had a great time exercising while supporting the families they serve.
SEIU 721 Stands with the Armenian Community
SEIU 721 stands in solemn solidarity with our Armenian brothers and sisters as we honor the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians killed in the Armenian Genocide beginning in 1915, one of the first genocides of the 20th century.
Los Angeles is home to one of the world’s largest Armenian diaspora communities, and Armenian members are part of the fabric of our union as essential workers, public servants, and neighbors.
We also remember that the suffering did not end a century ago. The 2020 war in Artsakh brought renewed pain and injustice, and Armenian prisoners remain unjustly held.
SEIU 721 stands with the Armenian community today, tomorrow, and always, because the fight for justice has no expiration date.
Unions for all May Day 2026
SEIU 721 members joined thousands at the May Day rally and march from MacArthur Park to downtown Los Angeles, standing in solidarity with Uber and Lyft drivers, adjunct professors, fast food workers, and all workers fighting for dignity and respect through a union. “Everybody deserves a union because everybody deserves dignity and respect,” said SEIU 721 President David Green.
Building Power Through Unity: Our Cross-Caucus Racial Justice Training
When I see our Women, African American, Latino, API, and LGBTQ+ caucus leaders sitting together in one room, learning together, strategizing together — that’s when I know we’re building something powerful.
Our recent Cross-Caucus Racial Justice Training wasn’t just another meeting. It was members from every part of our union family coming together to understand how racial and economic justice are two sides of the same coin. When billionaires try to divide us, when politicians play communities against each other, when bosses use racism to weaken our solidarity — we need to see through those tactics and stand united.
I’ve been organizing since 1977, and I helped found the SEIU Latino Caucus because I understood something fundamental: our individual fights are stronger when we connect them. The same forces attacking immigrant workers are attacking Black workers. The same budget cuts hurting women are hurting the LGBTQ+ community. We’re not just defending ourselves — we’re defending each other.
This training gave our leaders tools to recognize how racism operates in our workplaces and contracts. But more than that, it built relationships. Because when we understand each other’s struggles, when we show up for each other’s fights, that’s when we become unstoppable.
While others divide and destroy, we build a movement where every worker — no matter their background — has dignity, power, and justice.
