On Aug. 28, I was honored to speak at an LA City Hall rally celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.
As I told the assembled crowd of SEIU 721 members, community leaders, clergy, and others, the good news is that we were able to come together to celebrate this historic occasion.
On July 1, I went to San Francisco as a representative of SEIU Local 721 to show support for our striking brothers and sisters in Local 1021 who work for the Bay Area Rapid Transit. At a rally, I told the BART workers that their friends in Southern California are standing behind them 100 percent.
June was a big month for SEIU 721 members. Our endorsed candidates and measures won by considerable margins in Compton, Riverside, Oxnard and San Fernando. And I just got news of another important victory at the ballot box in Monterey Park, where our members joined with community allies to keep the fire department under local control.
In May I found myself traveling quite a bit. I represent our membership on SEIU’s International Executive Board and also on the SEIU Quality Advisory Committee, which is a network of mostly public sector locals working hard to raise the standards in public healthcare delivery.
The President’s Report is delivered each month to the SEIU 721 Executive Board, so it’s fitting that I address my first report of the new term to you, the 41 members of the board. On April 23, we were all sworn in together at a ceremony in Los Angeles.
More than 50,000 SEIU Local 721 members who work for LA County are gearing up for contract negotiations. These members haven’t had raises in four years—some of them even longer.
SEIU 721 members showed their strength and commitment to the City of Los Angeles in last week’s municipal elections. I’m proud to say that all SEIU 721 endorsed candidates won their elections or moved on to run-offs.
2013 is going to be a big year for our members who work in LA County. For the last several years those members have sacrificed in order to keep LA County running. Now those members deserve a raise. We laid the groundwork for a raise last year when members worked hard to pass Prop 30, which provides the state and County with much-needed revenues.
I hope you and your family had a happy and healthy holiday season. I was fortunate enough to spend much of the holidays with SEIU 721 members. At this time of year, they can always be counted on to give back to their communities.