From the Desk of Local 1000 Board Chair Bill Hall
In 2023, engagement is paramount. As we strengthen our connections with members through our town halls, our members keep it real with us. We spent last Saturday with over a hundred members at our second Bargaining Town Hall in Long Beach. Whether members express frustration with past challenges or demand constructive results in future bargaining, our town halls allow all of us to hear the experience and pain of lost opportunity, to recognize the obstacles that stand in the way of our economic progress, and to engage our members in the fight to win a great contract.
Respect Us, Protect Us, Pay Us is not only our theme for the Contract Campaign —it perfectly expresses our demands at the table.
At our Long Beach Bargaining Town Hall we heard from members and local leaders from the surrounding area who voiced their support for our negotiations, gave thoughtful input, and signed up to assist and connect with our workers during bargaining. This event was hosted by Vice President for Bargaining Irene Green and featured all nine bargaining unit chairs. Our officers and Bargaining Team hope to see even more local members at the next in-person Town Hall this Saturday, February 4, in Ontario.
It is no surprise that the need to bargain additional financial compensation ranks high on our member’s minds. Having opportunities to hear this input is exactly why this past week we also launched our virtual Bargaining Town Hall Meetings. When you can’t be there in person, attending a virtual town hall is another great way to participate and share your interests and concerns with the Bargaining Team.
There’s plenty of opportunities to still participate in this process. A full schedule of in-person and virtual town halls is available by clicking here. RSVP today!
We asking all of our leaders from the Board, DLCs, and BUNCs to share our Bargaining Survey link with the workers in their areas. Completing the online Bargaining Survey is a fantastic opportunity to share your strategic vision for bargaining proposals.
You can complete your survey by clicking here.
Additional planning is in progress for several upcoming events:
- March 17-19: Board of Directors Meeting
- March 20: Lobby Day
In other news, your facilities staff continues to examine the maintenance needs of our Sacramento headquarters buildings. It’s part of our strategic vision to restore, maintain, and upgrade our facilities. With property ownership comes responsibilities—to both repair and replace equipment—and to protect our capital investment. To this end, I will be presenting information to the Board and proposing a motion to create a building maintenance fund.
In closing, I can’t say enough about our members’ power and persistence as we learn from them and strengthen our team for the bargaining challenges ahead. Collectively, our Bargaining Chairs take the pulse of their unit members in real time, analyze the input, and prepare the priorities for bargaining proposals. We have a great team of leaders and staff taking the time to organize the research, proposals, and strategy that is needed to move into bargaining and to win a good contract.
Thank you for your support,
William (Bill) Hall
Board Chair, SEIU Local 1000
bhall@seiu1000.org