About

Local 1000 of the Service Employees International Union is a united front of 96,000 working people employed by the State of California, making Local 1000 the largest public sector union in California and one of the largest in the country.

Local 1000 represents members who contribute almost $6 billion dollars to the California economy and who work in more than 1400 worksites in California, Texas, New York, Chicago and Hawaii. We also fight to ensure that state workers…and all workers…are treated fairly and respectfully in the workplace, and are protected from unsafe work conditions. 

A Movement for Social and Economic Justice

Beyond those traditional labor roles, we believe unions have a duty to do more for their members than just represent them in contract negotiations and enforcement.

We believe that our union must be relevant in our members’ lives beyond the workplace. We stand with them to build communities in which they can raise healthy and happy families. Whether it’s in Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, The Inland Empire, Northern California or the Central Valley, we work side-by-side with community- and faith-based organizations to build a culture of optimism and prosperity. 

We believe our country is divided by an economic and legal system that is structured to shift wealth away from the workers who produce it and to benefit (almost exclusively) those who capitalize it. That is why we rail against the attacks on Social Security and public and private pensions that would take away earned, secure retirement benefits, would transform them into risky 401(k)’s and other private investments, and would reward Wall Street with windfalls while driving an entire generation quickly into poverty.

We believe that to have prosperous, healthy communities, working families must make a living wage to support themselves and to help those around them. That is why we are joining low-wage workers in their fight to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour and to organize a union at their worksites. This fight is already uniting a diversity of workers–including airport workers, home healthcare workers, and those who were displaced, replaced or outsourced in the recent economic recession and recovery.

We also believe that unions joining with other organizations that share our values can build the power necessary to change things. Through organization and a united purpose, we can give all Californians a good life. We can build sustainable communities that will support good paying jobs. Working with like-minded individuals and partners, we can build a society that is socially and economically just. 

Most importantly, we believe that these things are worth fighting for.