From the Desk of Local 1000 Board Chair Bill Hall

One of the chief priorities we are currently addressing is Union governance, specifically what it looks like in the future to ensure our growth and success. To meet that goal, the first meeting of our Committee of The Future (CTF) will be held on March 16. CTF is comprised of 23 Union members—regional and statewide leaders—working to create an improved Local 1000 that will both serve our members’ needs and win at the bargaining table. The Committee will be led by consultant Kurt Edelman.

• While we’re on the topic of governance, our next Board of Directors meeting will be held in Sacramento on March 17-19. It’s our first in-person meeting in three years and we have lots of activities planned. This includes updating our DLC leadership on the three key elements of our contract campaign: field organizing, political actions, and bargaining. Our Human Rights Committees will also meet, and we’ll get status reports from our staff department directors, and we’ll hold a formal board meeting as well.

Most importantly, we’ll have an opportunity for our leadership to interact with each other in a more personal way—in meetings, in the halls, and over a meal, to really encourage the relationship building we’ve missed during the pandemic.

On Monday, March 20, we’ll be at the Capitol building relationships of a different kind—with our elected lawmakers. Creating and developing these alliances is vital to our progress and success, and a number of our members will be joining the Board of Directors in this effort.

We’ll focus on talking with legislators about the value of the work our represented employees provide as we prepare for contract negotiations, but there’s a long-term goal for these alliances. As middle-class families and public sector workers, we’re hearing frequently about the threats we face that could affect our retirement security, our jobs, even our ability to negotiate for a better contract. As such, we’ll also include events aligned around a day of action. We’ll have more to report soon.

• Our partnership with SEIU’s State Council—an association of all the SEIU locals in California—is strong. They have identified our contract as a key political priority for 2023 and that brings with it the power of 600,000 union members standing with us.

It bears repeating that winning the best contract we can is our focus. We’ve been meeting with members in Bargaining Town Halls across the state, with a few more remaining (Fresno on March 4 and Sacramento on March 11) for you to join us. We’re listening carefully to what you want to see in a new contract and encouraging members to fill out a bargaining survey for our member-elected bargaining team to review.

It’s not too late to make sure your voice is heard. And if you aren’t feeling heard, you can start by contacting me first.

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