Respect Us! Protect Us! Pay Us! The Road to a New Contract Starts Now

Article Published on January 13, 2023

While we’ve been preparing for upcoming contract negotiations for more than a year, SEIU Local 1000 staff and members alike are “all in” and turning up the heat so we can win a good contract. Here’s a snapshot of what activity is ahead and how you can help us build strength so we can achieve better wages, benefits and working conditions

Phase 1 (January-February) – Build our Leadership Base and Prepare for our Fight:

We’re building member power through recruiting and training Statewide Regional Organizing Committee (ROC), who will create strength and action in workplaces across the state. We’ll also start to increase our Union visibility in the workplace with Purple Up Wednesdays.

We’re launching Bargaining Surveys, where members can provide valuable input as to what a good contract means to them. At the same time, we’re launching a series of in-person and virtual Bargaining Town Halls where members can share their priorities with the Bargaining Team and statewide leadership.

Phase 2 (March- April) Demonstrate UNITY and take COLLECTIVE ACTION in every Workplace:

As Bargaining with the State begins, we’ll escalate our worksite actions to demand that the State “Respect Us, Protect Us, and Pay Us.” You and your fellow state workers are encouraged to stand up and show your resolve with “sticker up” days, unity breaks, and petitions.  

Members and Local 1000 staff will hold meetings and lobby days with elected lawmakers. Now, more than ever, Politics Matter and we’re making politics work for us!

We’ll also do a first-ever “Strike School,” educating our members on the power, legal risks and logistics for a successful strike. 

Phase 3 (May-Beginning of June) Amplify our Voice in the Public and Mass Mobilization:

As bargaining continues, we’ll mount coordinated public actions statewide. Those actions could include informational pickets, statewide rolling rallies, possible civil disobedience, and call-in days.

We’ll bring more power to the bargaining table by enlisting the support and engaging community and elected allies to add pressure and drive home our demands.

We’ll share real-life stories told by our members: how today’s economy affects them, and what a good contract means to them, proving in public and at the table that we are not line items on a spreadsheet!

Phase 4 (June – TBD) Reach a Tentative Agreement and Ratify Our Contract: 

Our current contract expires on June 30, 2023. When we reach a Tentative Agreement, we’ll educate our members on the details of what we’ve won (with their support) and move to a contract ratification vote. At the same time, we’ll continue our efforts to add more members to the Local 1000 family and to recruit new Job Stewards to help us enforce our hard-earned contract rights.