SEIU 721 members are driving change across Southern California
If you’ve visited SEIU 721 lately, you know our union hall feels like Grand Central Station—with campaigns across our union heating up on parallel tracks. Fresh off our major LA County victory, SEIU 721 members are fired up to win.
As we go to press, LA City workers have reached a historic deal that averts layoffs and bolsters vital city services. This is what happens when union members stand together and refuse to back down. In Ventura County, bargaining is in full swing with more than 200 members staging a powerful action, and in Simi Valley, members voted overwhelmingly— 99% YES—to authorize an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike. They’re ready to hold the city accountable and push back against bad faith bargaining. The same goes for Loyola Marymount University, where non-tenure track faculty are standing up for fair treatment, launching a ULP strike vote after facing outrageous anti-union attacks. Our unity sends a message: We won’t tolerate union-busting from anyone.
Our fight doesn’t stop at the bargaining table. SEIU 721’s historic organizing efforts to pass AB 1340 are setting the stage for one of the biggest union drives in California history, giving gig workers a real shot at living wages and a voice on the job.
We’re on track—let’s go win!
YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE!
Elections Matter More Than Ever for Public Employees
Elections matter—and they can have major consequences for public workers. Whether it’s the team bargaining your contract, the retirement system leaders entrusted with your pension, state and local officials who control the purse strings and ballot measures that affect our fundamental rights, your vote is your voice.
As someone who served on the LACERA Board, I’ve seen firsthand why we need to elect worker champions—and when we get the opportunity, union members—to safeguard our pensions and our rights. That’s why our union endorsed our own Angela Ragusa for LACERS. And it’s why voting on measures like Proposition 50 is so important. It’s how we fight back against anti-union forces and protect public sector workers for generations.
So use your vote every chance you get. It’s how we defend our livelihoods, our rights, and the future of organized labor in California.
LA County Members:
Cast Your Vote to Lock In Our Wins!
Our LA County contract is still a tentative agreement—nothing is final until we vote to ratify. If members vote YES, we secure all the gains won at the bargaining table.
Don’t wait: cast your ballot online or at a worksite, and ensure our historic wins become reality for every LA County member.
SEIU 721 LA City Members Approve Layoff Prevention Agreement, Protecting Our Jobs
We did it—SEIU 721 members in the City of Los Angeles have overwhelmingly voted YES on our layoff prevention agreement, winning crucial job protections in these tough budget times. Our agreement averts layoffs and launches a joint effort with city leaders to increase revenue and safeguard city services for our communities.
Because we stood strong together, unpaid holidays will be used only as a last resort, and our jobs remain secure while we continue advocating for solutions that protect city services. This is the power of a united union: when we fight together, we defend every member and every service that keeps LA running.
SEIU 721 Kicks Off Campaign for Prop 50
It’s time to win our next labor contract at Clínica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero! SEIU 721 members at Clínica Romero have been filling out bargaining surveys about which issues they want to prioritize in the next campaign.
Surveys are a crucial step in the process because they help our union identify what needs to be addressed at worksites. Members have also been nominating coworkers to serve on the Bargaining Team. Your voices are vital as we work together to win the best contracts that honor our work in the community!
SEIU 721 Ventura County Members Rally for Fair Wages
SEIU 721 members in Ventura County made our voices heard at the recent Board of Supervisors meeting, where over 2,000 petition signatures were delivered demanding a living wage and a fair contract that lets us live where we work. Many speakers shared how hard it is to make ends meet on current county wages, with survey data showing only 42% of members own their homes and nearly one in ten needing public assistance.
Our petition and survey highlight the urgency of raising pay: non-competitive wages are forcing workers to leave Ventura County for better jobs, or to relocate just to afford housing. This united action is only the beginning—we are standing together to fight for a contract that truly supports Ventura County’s dedicated public employees.
SEIU 721 Simi Valley members rally after 99% ULP strike vote
SEIU 721 members in Simi Valley authorized an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike with a 99% YES vote after city officials refused to bargain in good faith, rallying strong community support.
On September 23, we staged an action across City Hall, transportation, sanitation, and police support worksites to demand respect and an end to stonewalling. Our united picket lines drew encouragement from residents who know Simi Valley runs because we do.
This fight is about more than contracts—it’s about protecting the services we deliver daily. We stay united and strike ready until the City negotiates in good faith.
SEIU 721’s annual Assembly and Family Fun Day once again brought together hundreds of members and their families from across all regions and classifications for a day of unity and celebration. Attendees enjoyed important union updates, connected with colleagues, and marked a year of strong union victories—all in a festive atmosphere that made the event a highlight of the summer.
If you missed out, be sure to create an account at www.SEIU721.org so you’ll receive announcements and RSVP invitations for future Family Fun Day celebrations.
LMU Faculty, Students Rally Against Union-Busting
Loyola Marymount University (LMU) instructors, students, and supporters rallied last week, urging the administration to resume contract talks and stop union-busting against nearly 400 non-tenure track (NTT) faculty. LMU recently announced it would no longer recognize the SEIU 721 union or bargain with faculty, despite a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)-certified vote showing almost 90% support in summer 2024 and ten months of negotiations.
Speakers at the rally, including clinical assistant professor Arik Greenberg, urged LMU to honor Catholic social teaching and labor law by returning to the bargaining table. SEIU 721 plans to file an Unfair Labor Practice charge, arguing LMU’s actions violate federal labor law. LMU’s administration cited a “religious exemption” for withdrawing from NLRB jurisdiction, a move SEIU 721 President David Green called “illegal” and promised to challenge. The union represents instructors across campus seeking better job security, pay, and working conditions after years of low wages and short-term contracts.
SEIU 721’s Non-Tenure Track (NTT) faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences at USD have achieved a historic first union contract after more than a year of hard-fought negotiations, including a two-day Unfair Labor Practice strike. The Bargaining Action Team (BAT) unanimously recommended a YES vote on the Tentative Agreement, which will soon go to the membership for ratification.
Key contract highlights:
Clinic Workers Celebrate Win
Community Clinic Workers Hail Passage of Law Banning Union-Busting Meetings
Community clinic workers across California are celebrating after Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 399 into law, banning employers from forcing employees to attend mandatory “captive audience” meetings about politics, religion, or unionization. The legislation protects workers from retaliation when they decline to participate in meetings designed to pressure them against union membership.
Mabel Quevedo, a Medical Assistant at Innercare clinic in the Imperial Valley who spoke in support of the bill, was transferred and lost mileage reimbursement after refusing to attend an anti-union meeting, choosing to prioritize her crisis patients over corporate coercion.
The bill takes effect on January 1, 2025, making California the tenth state to enact such worker protections. The victory energizes clinic workers’ drive to win a union, as SEIU Community Clinic Workers United continues to organize Federally Qualified Health Centers statewide.
SEIU 721 Regional Council Elections Underway
Elections for SEIU 721’s Regional Council are underway, with members actively choosing their representatives across all regions. Thirty seats are uncontested, and those candidates will be automatically seated. Six seats remain contested, and ballots will be mailed to members in those units. Ballots must be received at the union hall or Election P.O. Box by
9 a.m. on Friday, October 10, 2025. The Regional Council, elected every three years, ensures all members’ voices are represented.
SEIU 721 Chief of Staff Gilda Valdez
Our Union
When Our Democracy is Under Attack, What do We do? Stand Up, Fight Back!
Organized labor is California’s last line of defense against a deliberate and coordinated campaign to dismantle worker power. What we’re witnessing today—from federal courts throwing the National Labor Relations Board into chaos to an avalanche of anti-union attacks—is no accident. It’s the culmination of Project 2025—ultra-conservatives’ multi-billion-dollar effort to seize control of every branch of government, rewrite the rules, and lock in power through gerrymandering.
Unchecked power means billionaires can easily bust unions, derail organizing and make it nearly impossible for workers to defend basic rights on the job. The authors of Project 2025 have openly called to ban public sector unions, eliminate overtime protections, and give bosses unchecked control. Each move is designed to silence working families and their unions for a generation.
That’s why Proposition 50 is a last-resort measure. Prop 50 ensures fair redistricting so the ultra-rich can’t gerrymander away democracy. It will empower California to protect public sector bargaining and safeguard organizing rights. It’s our way to fight back right now—at the ballot box, on the job, and in our communities.
Now is not the time to stand aside. California and SEIU 721 are the tip of the spear in defending democracy and worker justice. Together, we fight on!
