What We Do

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Local 1000 of the Service Employees International Union is a united front of 96,000 working people employed by the State of California, making us the largest public sector union in California and one of the largest in the country.

Of course, we do what all labor unions have done traditionally: We organize and represent workers.  Local 1000 represents members who contribute almost $6 billion dollars to the California economy and who work in more than 2000 worksites in California, Texas, New York, Chicago and Hawaii. We also fight to ensure that state workers…and all workers…are treated fairly and respectfully in the workplace, and are protected from unsafe work conditions. 

More Than Just a Labor Union

But what Local 1000 does goes far beyond those traditional labor roles. We believe unions have a duty to do more for their members than just represent them in contract negotiations and enforcement.

Our union is committed to being relevant in our members’ lives beyond the workplace. We stand with them to build communities in which they can raise healthy and happy families. We host “Cash for College” workshops where members and their families can get help with financial aid. We partner in “Healthier U,” a workplace wellness pilot program designed by state employees for state employees. And we engage and mentor our members as they grow into the leaders their families, our union and our state need them to be.

We are strong advocates for our members’ retirement security, but we also want a California where everyone can retire with peace of mind. We will continue to fiercely defend Social Security and earned pension benefits from those who would raid the funds workers have paid into.

We are joining with low-wage workers in their fight to increase the minimum wage to $15 and to organize unions at their workplaces. Workers from diverse fields such as retail, fast food, airports and home health care are standing up together, and we are standing right there with them.

A Coalition of the Willing

We are also joining with other organizations that share our values to build the power necessary to lift our communities up. When it looked like the economic benefits of the State’s high-speed rail project might bypass the Central Valley’s poorest residents, Local 1000 helped create a coalition of Fresno-area churches and community-based nonprofit organizations dedicated to spreading the rail project’s prosperity equitably in their community.

And we will continue to build dynamic and visionary coalitions: Our members have joined with advocates of affordable housing, immigration reform, early childhood education and student loan relief to fight for the goals that matter to our members and their families.

We are fighting for a California where everyone has the opportunity to live healthy, secure, meaningful lives. And we will fight until our vision becomes our shared reality.