Bobby Roy: Living The Local 1000 Purpose Statement

Notification

Each May, we pay tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success.

Bobby Roy, an Educational Programs Consultant at the Department of Education in Sacramento, is continuing that proud tradition of “making a difference” at work and in the community.

Bobby finds inspiration for his labor activism from his great-granduncle, Acacio Venezuela, who was a labor activist in Hawaii in the early 1900s. Acacio dedicated his life to improving the working conditions of island farmworkers and his stories of commitment to his fellow man were frequently told and retold.

Bobby applies those guiding principles today as a Local 1000 activist. With twelve years in state service, Bobby has served as a Job Steward for six years and as a District Bargaining Unit Representative for Unit 21. He was elected to our 2013 bargaining team and organized his colleagues to take action in support of the contract we are all proud of.

Bobby walked into the job as a natural organizer. Growing up in a challenged south Sacramento neighborhood, he was exposed to the Philippine National Day Association and other community organizers who were building a better community.

What he didn’t know was they were organizing him and making him sensitive and committed to making positive change where he lived.

“Those organizers took me under their wing and gave me the opportunity to thrive and reach my full potential,” Roy said. Today, Bobby lives in the same neighborhood and is perpetually active in working to give his neighbors the opportunity for a good life.

Paying forward his childhood experiences, he works with the Sacramento County Children’s  Coalition, which advises the Board of Supervisors and other policy-making bodies to promote the well-being of children and families. He’s worked with the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission to develop a racial equity statement, and he’s the treasurer for the Iu-Mien

Community Services, helping a large population of southeast Asian refugees thrive in their new home.

“This is my home and my community, and this is where I choose to make a difference,” Bobby said.

Bobby Roy also chooses to be a member of our Union and to make a difference in the lives of state workers. Besides being part of the bargaining team, Bobby is active in the IT Reclass efforts, in our iChoose program and is already looking forward to bargaining in 2020.