On Sunday, April 23, 2022, the SEIU Local 1000 Environmental Committee sponsored the Sacramento Earth Day event at Southside Park, Sacramento. Sacramento Earth Day is the largest Earth Day celebration in the region, providing people with the knowledge and means to take care of our planet. The theme this year was GROW NATIVE. The event was free and thousands of attendees came throughout the day. SEIU 1000 Environmental Committee sponsorship included providing to event organizers Earth Day bookmarks to use to satisfy the city’s requirement to notify homes around the park.
On Sunday, April 23, 2022, the SEIU Local 1000 Environmental Committee sponsored the Sacramento Earth Day event at Southside Park, Sacramento. Sacramento Earth Day is the largest Earth Day celebration in the region, providing people with the knowledge and means to take care of our planet. The theme this year was GROW NATIVE. The event was free and thousands of attendees came throughout the day. SEIU 1000 Environmental Committee sponsorship included providing to event organizers Earth Day bookmarks to use to satisfy the city’s requirement to notify homes around the park. Instead of fliering the homes using paper that will be thrown away, SEIU Local 1000 provided bookmarks to leave on neighboring homes that can be used after. Sponsorship included public recognition and a table at the event.
The purpose of the SEIU Local 1000 Environmental Committee is to provide a roadmap for our members to proactively lead the cause of environmental justice and activism within our communities, across California, and around the world.
Local 1000 members, Eddie Issacs, Environmental Committee Chair (CalTRANS), David Jimenez, Statewide VP Treasurer/Secretary (DSS), Sam Lieu (HCD), and Conor Abberaton (CalTRANS) all volunteered.
Our goal in participating in the Sacramento Earth Day was to drive member engagement, develop non-member outreach, and facilitate community Involvement. Specifically, it was an opportunity to connect with represented State employees who telecommute and are not available at the worksite regarding our Contract Campaign. This event provided the committee the opportunity to:
1. Educate everyone involved on how SEIU Local 1000 is involved in environmental and other justice movements.
2. Provide a vehicle for Local 1000 members to participate in environmental and other justice movements. It also served as a means to engage members on other issues such as the upcoming bargaining campaign and to familiarize members with the benefits of strong union membership.
3. Reach out to non-member state employees represented by Local 1000 and encourage them to participate in environmental and other justice movements by joining the union. It also was an opportunity to engage non-members on the benefits of strong union membership, not only as it concerns the environment but also good wages, benefits, and pensions through a good contract.
4. Provide a vehicle for committee members and member event volunteers to grow in their leadership by helping to organize and implement this event.
5. Build relationships with regional environmental organizations and reach out to the public to advocate the need to consider workers in all their environmental work and policies.
The event also provided us with the opportunity to engage members in building their leadership by interacting with members, non-members, and the general Local 1000 community. The volunteers were a mix of seasoned Job Stewards and recent hires. All of the volunteers expressed a positive attitude that their Union was involved in environmental justice.
Over 30 individuals who came to the booth identified themselves as Local 1000 members. The volunteer members asked each of them to sign in and handed out Union t-shirts and other swag. Our volunteers also invited members who visited the booth to get more involved with their Union.
Our volunteers also had several opportunities to engage non-member represented workers on the value of union membership, and several responded by saying they would reconsider becoming a union member.
This marked the 13th year the SEIU Local 1000 Environmental Committee has been involved with the Sacramento Earth Day event. As a result, we have an outstanding reputation with the event organizers, the Environmental Council of Sacramento, and other environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club. Volunteer members leveraged this by interacting with the event organizers and other organizations involved.