From the Desk of Local 1000 Board Chair Bill Hall

Announcement

Last week at SEIU Local 1000 we continued our work to build membership, consolidate our union power, and put us in the best position to bargain a fair and equitable contract with the State in 2023.

  • Last week I was in our Sacramento office on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday preparing for the upcoming Board of Directors meeting on September 23 – 25.  I also approved several staff hires to fill current vacancies and followed up on issues related to our one-story building located at 1325 S Street.
     
  • On Wednesday I visited two DMV worksites in Santa Clara County and listened as our members expressed their concerns with not having a union presence for the past 2.5 years.  We discussed wages, working conditions, and the cost of health care along with essential worker pay, and ensuring a more regular union presence in both offices, especially given the fact that every nonmember we talked with at both worksites became a Local 1000 member.
     
  • Thursday, I visited DGS and CalSTRS in Sacramento.  We talked with workers who were available, listened to their representation concerns, and were again successful in increasing our membership. Wages, telework, essential worker pay, and heath care costs continue to be the main issues raised by workers and a common theme in our visits.
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  • I encourage all of our represented workers to take heart in the fact that we are not alone; government workers across our nation are under paid, over worked, have less benefits and pay more for the benefits they still have.  This article in the Washington Post explains our situation well. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/12/worker-shortage-public-sector-crisis/
     
  • We continue building our strength through membership in preparation for the 2023 Contract negotiations. If you want the State to deliver improved wages and working conditions along with real respect in the workplace, then we share a common desire.  Union support through membership is the only way to have the power needed to move our employer, the State of California.
     
  • As I visit worksites and speak to our workers, I often hear of how Local 1000 came up short in the past. While I hear the concerns that SEIU Local 1000 has not always delivered what we believe we needed, it’s important to recognize that our Local 1000 teams did good work at the table and made gains for you in the past 20 years. It’s important to understand that your Union is only one side of the negotiating table; the State, your employer, is the other side. For anything to happen, both sides must agree. If we are to move the State closer to our demands, then we need the power to do so. That power comes in the form of high membership.

I’ve learned that if I live in the past, I cannot move forward. I’m asking and hoping that we all focus on what’s in front of us — Contract 2023.

Thank you for your support.

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