CAMPAIGN kICK-OFF TO STOP RIORDAN SATURDAY NOV 17; SCHOONOVER REPORT

[SEIU721REFORMERS]

Guys,

I apologize for sending dated material, however, I do not go into seiulocal7...@gmail.com every day.   Consequently, when I opened the mail here at this email address, I saw that Andy is rallying the troops to head Riordan off at the pass.

Anyhoo, I am forwarding you this information just to let you know what's going on if you already did not know.

I for one did not know this was going on and I work at a considerably large L.A. city complex.

I will contact staff to see why I am not getting emails at my personal address.  It might have been sent and I did not catch it.

In any case, this is a very important issue which is facing every city employee alike.

When I first got hired seventeen and a half years ago, Riordan was putting Sanitation workers on the chopping block and everyone at the City of Los Angeles recognized this as a threat to all of the city employed workers.

Here we are almost two decades later and Riordan is raising his head again and it's time for City Workers to respond to his threat again.

Please help here wherever and whenever you can.

In Solidarity

Rafe

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SEIU 721

Campaign Kick-Off to Stop Riordan
Saturday, Nov. 17, 10 a.m.
SEIU 721
1545 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90017

Download a flyer.

RSVP here.

Dear Friend:

The 1% are at it again. Multi-millionaire Richard Riordan and his billionaire friends are leading the attack against city workers. They are spending millions to place an initiative on the May 2013 ballot that would slash our retirement benefits and replace them with risky, costly 401(k) plans.

Join hundreds of union members and community allies this Saturday as we kick off the campaign to stop Riordan from qualifying his pension-slashing ballot initiative.

We’ll rally, BBQ and then hit the streets as "Riordan Signature Busters" to urge people not to sign Riordan's petition. He needs to gather 255,000 signatures from LA voters by Dec. 7. We can stop him and save our pensions.

It's time for all members to get energized and join this fight. Be ready to volunteer this Saturday!

Call the 721 Rapid Response Hotline: (877) 721-4968 to join the Riordan Signature Busters.

In unity,

Andy Morales,
LA city trash truck driver

 

 

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Dear SEIU 721 Member,

Every month, in accordance with the SEIU 721 by-laws, I submit a report on your union's activities to the Executive Board. We post the President's Report to the SEIU 721 website. As part of our ongoing efforts to improve member communications, we are emailing it out to you as well. If you like getting it in your email box or if you have comments on it, let me know. Send me an email at president...@seiu721.org.

Nov. 16, 2012

Election Day 2012 By the Numbers

It seems that every four years we say that elections are historic. But this year I think we can use the term “historic” with confidence.

We re-elected President Barack Obama. We defeated Prop 32. We passed Prop 30. We helped elect union-friendly politicians across Southern California. Of course, we didn’t get everything we wanted (Prop 34 comes to mind), but we still did pretty well. Overall, the working men and women of California had a lot of wins on November 6.  A lot of people deserve credit for the wins and 721 members and staff are definitely on that list.
 

We’re still compiling results as of this writing, but below are some of the highlights of this historic election*.

• 391,770 GOTV/Election labels were applied to door hangers by SEIU 721 members and staff working from all four SEIU GOTV locations.
• 14,178 GOTV door hangers were delivered to voters.
• 4,862 Members attended a worksite meeting about Props. 30 and 32.
• 5,629 Pledge cards to Vote Yes on Prop. 30 and No on Prop. 32 were signed and collected.
• 1,765 phone bank or precinct walk shifts were completed.
• 667 members became Permanent Absentee Voters.
• 1,600 members attended a tele-townhall about the propositions.
• 462 SEIU 721 members volunteered at least one shift.
• 153 friends and family members volunteered at least one shift.
• 151 SEIU 721 staff volunteered at least one shift.
• 62 members and staff spent two weekends in Nevada campaigning for President Obama.
• 59 mobile phonebanks were held.
• 24 endorsement townhalls were held.
• 24 staff members were assigned to various candidate and campaign offices.

SEIU 721 Targeted Endorsement Races

• We won 14 of the 17 Congressional Seats.
• We won all 6 of the State Senate Seats.
• We won 19 of the 24 and a potential two more Assembly Seats (still too close).
• We beat Prop. 32 and passed Prop 30. Seven out of eight propositions that SEIU 721 took positions on went our way.
• We mailed our first individually targeted slate mailer to 51,000 members and retirees.
• We mailed 17,000 postcards for targeted candidate races to members and retirees.
• We won 15 out of 24 local races and possibly four more but it’s still too close to be determined.

Election Highlights

• President Obama was re-elected and won most swing states.
• California Democrats picked up an additional four, and possibly five, Congressional seats (results pending).
• Labor organizations defeated Prop. 32 by educating members through worksite meetings, collecting pledge cards and communicating our message to general voters.
• Prop. 30 passed, mainly with labor support and huge voter turnout in Los Angeles County (60%).
• SEIU members identified 371,396 Yes Votes for Prop. 30.
• SEIU members identified 371,727 No Votes for Prop. 32.

Corporations and billionaires decided to go after working men and women this year. And despite all the money ($6 billion was spent nationally), the workers won! The results of the general election prove that the values of union members are shared by the general public and that corporations and billionaires are out of touch with the mainstream.

Stand up and be proud, SEIU 721! You did great.

Representing Our Membership

Santa Barbara County Members Approve Contract
With 83% of members voting YES, members who work for Santa Barbara County overwhelmingly ratified a tentative agreement between their elected bargaining team and the County of Santa Barbara. Members have been working without a contract for more than a year. The tentative agreement will now go to the Board of Supervisors for approval. Members are calling on the Board to do the right thing and approve the long-overdue contract.

Members at Gateways Hospital Approve Contract
On November 7, members at Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center overwhelmingly approved a new three-year contract. The contract includes raises retroactive to 2012 and language improvements that allow us to monitor the hospital’s use of part-time employees.

Family Picnic and Fun Day
Hundreds of SEIU 721 members and their families gathered for an “Assembly and Family Fun Day” on Saturday, October 20, at Whittier Narrows Park.

Festivities included face-painting, a bounce house, raffles and prizes. But the real agenda was uniting around defeating Prop 32 and passing Prop 30. As Vice President Linda Dent told the crowd, “Prop 30 brings revenue into California. Workers have gone four years without a raise and we need a raise! We can make it happen! YES on 30!” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Los Angeles Celebrates Custodial Appreciation Day
In a tradition that dates back to 1997, the City of Los Angeles celebrated Custodial Appreciation Day on Thursday, November 1. It’s an event I look forward to every year. About 400 city custodians, all represented by SEIU 721, filled the Deaton Civic Auditorium at LAPD headquarters. “We had a wonderful day,” said Avis Harris, a senior custodian at the LAPD’s Metro Detention Center. “It’s always wonderful whenever any job appreciates you.” After an awards ceremony, custodians enjoyed a catered lunch in front of City Hall.

LA City Members Save Convention Center Jobs
Los Angeles City Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and CAO Miguel Santana have been trying to privatize the City’s Convention Center for months. The City Council was set to take up the job-killing proposal, but then dozens of our union sisters and brothers took action. They met with Council members and let them know they strongly opposed any plan to takes middle-class jobs out of the city. The Council agreed with our members and the issue has been tabled.

Los Angeles County Nursing Assistant Win Orderly Hospital Transition
The Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) requires modifications to the scope of practice for nursing staffs nationwide. As a result, Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Nursing Assistants will be relocated to Los Angeles County Hospitals.

Obviously, this situation could have led to disruptions and MOU violations. I’m happy to say that SEIU 721 members met with management and hammered out a set of guidelines for staff relocation. These guidelines ensure that seniority is respected and that nursing assistants have a say in where they work.

A Note from SEIU 721's Chief of Staff, Gilda Valdez

With the election season behind us, SEIU 721’s staff is turning its attention to a pair of exciting initiatives.

First, we are re-dedicating ourselves to representational excellence. We recently formed a committee with United Union Professionals, our staff union, to look at how we can streamline the representation process and get members the best representation possible as quickly as possible.

Second, with 2013 just around the corner, we’re starting to focus on planning the Local’s priorities and goals for next year. This is always a collaborative process that involves staff, officers, executive board members and, of course, our rank and file members. With that in mind, do you have ideas about what our priorities should be for 2013? What goals would you choose for the Local next year? We want to hear from you on these and other issues. Send me an email at chiefo...@seiu721.org and let me know what you think.

In Solidarity,

Bob Schoonover
SEIU721 President

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SEIU Local 721 Reformers is an email address attempting to share information with SEIU Local Members, Stewards, Officers, Staff and Officials.
Rafe Garcia, Steward, is the custodian of this email address.
Those of us sharing, exchanging and participating in this forum are attempting to engage the membership to further the concept of a member driven Union.
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FOUNDED AUGUST 31, 2008