From the Desk of Board Chair Bill Hall

Thanks to the hard work of members like yourself, SEIU Local 1000 continues to move forward towards our goal of building our union power and securing a good contract for all of our represented workers. I’m pleased to report on the following developments:

Staff Development

We established an SEIU Local 1000 Strategic Campaign Department and named Ahjamu Umi as Local 1000’s new Strategic Campaigns Coordinator. Ahjamu assumes this role following a decade of organizing with Local 1000. The new Strategic Campaign Department will allow us to engage more workers through all aspects of bargaining and develop new strategies to fight for a strong contract.

We’re also planning to hire additional staff to bring new expertise and experience to our bargaining efforts. This week, that meant working with Senior Advisor Eliseo Medina and Acting Staff Director Scott Washburn as they transition into their respective positions at Local 1000. Both of these union leaders have decades-long careers organizing workers, building member strength, and exercising power to engage and win for workers. We look forward to learning from these wise strategists, mentors, skillful organizers, and relentless warriors for worker justice.

Board Meeting

2022 Budget: During the weekend Board of Directors Meeting, with the guidance of our VP/Secretary-Treasurer David Jimenez and CFO Denye Versher, SEIU Local 1000 passed our budget with unanimous support. Our Board members asked pertinent questions, debated vigorously, and ultimately came together to create a solid financial vision for our Union. This budget framework ensures us of going into bargaining with stable financial footing and a clear vision of how to best use our resources in this fight.

Officer Stipends and Union Leave: Vice President for Bargaining Irene Green and Board Chair Bill Hall presented a policy file amendment to eliminate officer stipends and secure full-time Union Leave for the board chair and statewide officers. The motion passed by a vote of 37-12 with two abstentions. These stipend cost savings are an important part of our plan to maintain our fiscal security as we expand our work.

Parliamentary Training: One of our Board Parliamentarians conducted an extensive three-hour training that explained the different procedures used in Roberts Rules of Order, which applies to our meeting process. The goal of this training was to ensure that all Board members can conduct themselves civilly and be respectful of others, especially when our viewpoints differ. The success of this training was clear as the Board members effectively utilized the structure and due process provided by Roberts Rules of Order throughout the weekend meeting.

Membership and Organizing

Last week, DLC 752 President Kevin Healy, Local 1000 Job Steward Teresa Swift, and I visited the Santa Rosa DMV, where we met and spoke with represented workers at the front counter and driver safety areas. Thanks to our conversations, we were able to recruit two new members. I’ll be visiting more worksites in the coming weeks.

Additionally, we held our biweekly leadership meeting, where we directed outreach to several members and worked on the latest initiatives surrounding Essential Worker Pay, Telework, and disability issues. 

Apprenticeships

Local 1000 continues to lead in the development of non-traditional, 21st century registered apprenticeships.  As a result of our efforts, Local 1000 Apprenticeship Coordinator, Sarah McGinn, has been asked to serve as a panelist for a virtual workforce summit next week hosted by the Institute of Local Governments: How Registered Apprenticeships Can Work in Your Local Agency. The presentation is intended to provide attendees with information about how to build apprenticeships within the public sector and is tailored for practitioners at California cities, counties, and special districts. Local 1000 will be sharing the benefits of apprenticeships within the public sector and the role that unions can serve in developing high quality apprenticeships inclusive of worker voice and representation.

Thank you for your support.

William (Bill) Hall
Board Chair, SEIU Local 1000
bhall@seiu1000.org