As of today, LA County members have been working without a contract for more than two months. That’s because the County is refusing to give our members raises and make them effective on October 1, the same day they made them effective for management.
Since June, LA County members have been bargaining hard for a fair contract that’s good for them and the community. We hoped to finish the process during two days of intensive bargaining in late October. Unfortunately, negotiations with the County broke down.
I take a lot of pride in being the President of Local 721. We’re a strong Local with an incredibly active membership. But on October 1, that pride swelled to new levels as I looked out at the massive crowd of LA County workers assembled in front of the County Hall of Administration.
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.