After several years of fighting to get out of a corrupt Association that often went against their members’ best interest, over 800 San Bernardino County workers in the Professional Unit voted to join SEIU Local 721 last week.
On Sept. 17, 2014, SEIU Local 721 and the County of Santa Barbara reached an agreement which will increase the pay by 5% for all social workers and career employment specialists in the county. The Board voted 4-1 to approve this wage adjustment during its Board of Supervisors meeting on Oct. 7.
The County of Ventura Board of Supervisors voted on August 5, 2014, to approve 59 new positions to help keep children safe in the County. The new additions, which include 30 new social workers, are the result of SEIU 721 Local members and staff working tirelessly with the County of Ventura through the joint Workload Forum to find better ways to lessen the impact of child abuse and neglect in our community.
SEIU Local 721 social workers spoke up at the Board of Supervisors meeting on May 20 to urge the Board to support children in Santa Barbara County by improving recruitment and retention of social workers to keep children safe.
We have dedicated our professional lives to keeping these most vulnerable children safe. But we are, as the Commission said, “overwhelmed by caseloads significantly above the national average” and forced to deal regularly with the problem of where to place endangered children when there is a “shortage of safe and appropriate foster homes.”
On March 29, LA County Social Workers celebrated National Social Work Month with an event and awards’ ceremony to honor champions for children.
March is National Social Worker Appreciation Month and this year’s theme is “All People Matter.” All through the month, SEIU 721 celebrated the hard work that Social Workers perform for our community. Highlights of activities included SEIU 721 Riverside County social workers being honored by the Board of Supervisors, worksite lunch meetings held around the county with the culmination of a lunch for Medical Social Workers at Riverside County Regional Medical Center.