Political Activism & Community Blog

Local1000 members began meeting with various legislators up and down the state last week. These meetings are the first step in establishing relationships with the newly elected Legislature and briefing them on our key issues including the outsourcing of state work, workload issues in many departments, and the process for legislative ratification of our new contract.

The first meetings were in Sacramento and San Jose last week, where members from all nine bargaining units attended. These briefings are just one part of Local1000’s political program, connecting members with elected officials. These briefings are ongoing throughout the state. For more information or to participate, please contact Ashley Martinez at (916) 554-1258.

Earlier this afternoon, more than 1,000 people from various union locals including Local 1000 marched on the north steps of the Capitol in support of Employee Free Choice. Lt. Governor John Garamendi and Assemblyman Dave Jones were among the speakers who spoke on the importance of Employee Free Choice and how it will help rebuild the middle class and protect our present wages and benefits.

Employee Free Choice, introduced into Congress last week, is critical legislation that would restore workers' freedom to form unions and bargain for better wages, health care and working conditions. For more information, read last week’s post here.

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor reported that the recently passed budget deal may be obsolete because the state is on track to come up $8 billion short causing audible groans throughout the Capitol and piles of stories mentioning possible solutions and wondering what’s next for recession-battered California.

Republican lawmakers may be denouncing taxes but the Orange County Register reports that the California Republican Party is contributing money to the campaign to pass a series of measures on the May 19 ballot that would temporarily increase taxes. The measures, supported by Gov. Schwarzenegger, have divided Republicans. Schwarzenegger is working to raise money in support of embattled Republican legislators, such as Anthony Adams (R-Hesperia), who is facing a potential recall after voting for the February budget compromise.

On Tuesday, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) was introduced into both houses of Congress. EFCA is critical legislation that would restore workers' freedom to form unions and bargain for better wages, health care and working conditions.

SEIU President Andy Stern appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show on Monday to discuss EFCA and why it's needed.


On Tuesday, SEIU's Stephen Lerner explains the EFCA in plain English on Hardball.



Need further details? The House Committee on Education & Labor has broken down the myths about EFCA on their website.

For those in Sacramento, there will be a statewide rally in support of EFCA next week on March 17th. The rally will be at the North Steps of the Capitol at noon. Join hundreds of workers, community allies and labor leaders from up and down the state where workers will be sharing their stories, and labor leaders, economists and other officials will be discussing the importance of EFCA and how it can help get our economy back on track.

For more rally information, contact: Sonia Bustamante at sbustamante@calaborfed.org or (209) 762-2559 or Zak Ford at zak@sacramentolabor.org or (916) 813-6658.

Furlough ruling: Sacramento Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette issued a tentative ruling Thursday allowing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to furlough about 15,000 state workers employed by elected constitutional officers and the Board of Equalization. The ruling rejects arguments that because constitutional officers are independently elected they should control their own employees.

Change that works: Two important portions of SEIU’s Change That Works campaign made news this week. First, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) was introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate, which received national media coverage. The bill would make it easier for workers to seek union representation and is backed SEIU, virtually all labor unions and most progressive organizations. It is opposed by wide array of business groups who are spending millions to keep it difficult to join unions. Next Thursday there will be a noon rally in support of EFCA in Sacramento on the north steps of the Capitol.

Health care that works: Another key plank of the Change that Works campaign is universal health care. In California, state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) introduced SB 810 – a single-payer health care bill. Leno said it will “guarantee comprehensive health care benefits to every California resident and streamline claims and reimbursements” and “every Californian would have medical, dental, vision, hospitalization and prescription drug benefits. The bill also preserves a patient’s right to choose his or her own doctors and hospitals.” The bill is very similar to last year’s SB 840 by then Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D- Santa Monica), who was termed out last year. In the U.S. Congress, Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan) introduced legislation to enact single-payer health insurance at the federal level. Most industrialized nations have some form of single-payer health care coverage that is administered or closely regulated by the national government. Business groups are split on this issue, which is a big change from the 1990s when health care reform failed. People have referred to America’s health care dilemma as the “ elephant in the room ” but how about a “ moose on the roof ” that really happened to Ward Nostdahl of Minot, North Dakota. Police said the moose was last seen heading north.