"What does it take to get the mayor's attention in this town?" was the question on their purple lips Thursday night (it was cold) after several dozen SEIU 1021 members and staff occupied Mayor Gavin Newsom's office, while hundreds more cheered them on inside and outside City Hall. It was a two-pronged tactic of escalating the San Francisco campaign through civil disobedience on top of public rallies. The action was to highlight the solutions 1021 has been proposing over the mayor's latest attempt to decimate public services.

What's at stake: The $7 million to prevent more than 500 layoffs, pay-cutting reclassifications and job displacements that could be covered from the city's $25 million reserve. Mayor Newsom has said he won't spend the money even if the Board of Supervisors approves it. In addition, San Francisco stands to receive $34 million over two years through AB 1383, a bill that would increase MediCal reimbursements, drawing federal matching funds with it.

Through SEIU 1021's work with the Board, they've mustered seven of the eight votes needed to get the money and save schools, vital public health and social services. A recent Bay Guardian analysis shows that SEIU 1021 members have taken the biggest hits from Newsom's budget cuts. Over the past three years, 82 percent of all city layoffs have hit SEIU 1021 members while few management positions have been cut.

Watch a clip here, with more details about the action after the break.

When those little ghosts and goblins (or, we're predicting, Michael Jacksons) come collecting on Halloween, make sure you have a full supply of union-made goodies to hand out. No, not our latest flyers on the economic crisis. We mean candies made by union workers.

That includes some of our favorites, such as Jelly Bellies (made in Fairfield), Red Vines, Sunkist Fruit Gel Slices, Sweethearts (those crunchy little hearts with sweet nothings stamped into them), and our guilty favorite -- candy corn! But there's way more than that.

UnionPlus has compiled a list of candy products made by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM); snack foods by members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW); and fruits and nuts from members of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). Please support our union brothers and sisters when you shop for Halloween treats this year.

Union-made Halloween Treats: unionplus.org/union-made/halloween-treats

Over 200 allies and members of SEIU 1021 paid California Senator Dianne Feinstein a personal house call on Monday. While their message was strong--demanding that the Senator stand up and support real health care reform--they also came carrying hearts and roses to show their support for the Senator.

Each heart bore a message, such as one member who wrote, "I know I'm not rich, but I need health care just like rich folks" and another who asked "if not now, when?"

SEIU 1021 President Damita Davis-Howard spoke outside Feinstein's home in San Francisco's Presidio District., telling the Senator, "We know you have a heart. We want you to know that we care just like you do about real health care in this country."

Check out 1021 members in action here:

More often than wages, health care is at the forefront of contract bargaining throughout SEIU 1021. In Sonoma County, members bargained through a strike vote and a year-long imposition mostly over the issue of health care. Premiums for family coverage have risen five times faster than wages, and 11 million people have lost employer-paid coverage in the past two years alone. More photos from their Feinstein house call here.

In union news this week...

• Disability service workers at the Ulster-Greene ARC in New York State voted overwhelmingly to join SEIU Local 200United over the weekend. These 600 workers provide services to more than 1,000 people with developmental disabilities-- epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, to name just a few.

• On Friday, SEIU hosted a myth-busting conference call with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and thousands of SEIU members across the country. "This is our moment in history and we don't want to look back and say 'if only we had...'" said Sebelius, urging SEIU members to attend local health care town hall meetings and spread the word that those supporting reform need to write letters to their Congressperson or Senator "so our representatives know we need healthcare reform this year."

• Just eight months after U.S. creditors pulled its credit lines and forced the 100 year-old company whose employees make suits for President Obama to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Hartmarx purchase is (finally!) finalized...thanks largely to the efforts of Workers United members, who saved the company--and their jobs.

• SEIU 32BJ's Training Fund has developed the first-ever Green Buildings Initiative to train building superintendents in the latest, state-of-the-art, best practices in energy efficiency to foster the greening of NYC's buildings.

• Andy Stern discusses healthcare reform with Roland Martin on the Tom Joyner Morning Show.

• "Fixing our country's health care system is a pressing issue for every American, but it's of critical importance to communities of color," writes CIR/SEIU Healthcare President Dr. L Toni Lewis and SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera in a guest op-ed on BlackAmericaWeb.com entitled "Why We Need Healthcare Reform Now."

• The NY Times publishes an op-ed by Dr. L Toni Lewis honoring journalist Sidney Zion's work to uncover the connection between hospital staff hours and medical errors.

• The 1021 NewsWire and other SEIU Local 1021 publications win a total of six awards for excellence in writing, design and production from the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA). Congrats!

With a future body count guaranteed to make it a horror film classic, the new California state budget approved by legislators on Friday puts an end to the endless "debate" that's been causing debilitating migraines even in those who don't suffer them.

But the pain is far from over. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his band of loyal lawmakers proved they're no 'girlie-men' with the budget cuts by taking healthcare from the sick and frail and every kind of care from the elderly; by closing schools so kids have nowhere to learn, and after-school programs so they have nowhere else to go. They closed the deficit by privatizing public services and throwing public servants under the bus, while taking money with impudence from those who remain. And if you thought these outcomes were shocking, here's the most shocking thing of all: CA lawmakers managed all of this without taxing corporations one single additional dime.

And no doubt the heads of those corporations will be spending this glorious, victorious weekend with Governor Arnold in his hot tub, smoking their cigars.

The difference
Rapid action by members of SEIU Local 1021, Local 1000 and all the California locals, together with the communities they serve, prevented the outcome of the budget deal from being much worse. "While we don't like the outcome [of this budget], had we not gotten involved it would have been much worse," said SEIU executive vice president Eliseo Medina.

Working closely in collaboration with communities and allies, scores of public events were held all over the state that put a human face on the cuts to home care, health care, CalWORKS, schools, and other public services. All together, SEIU members made 40,000 calls to the Governor and legislators, took part in 400-plus lobby days and sent 100,000 petitions and postcards. The most dramatic difference these efforts made is that new revenues are finally on the table and, against the odds, even made it into the Conference Committee budget. And more significantly, SEIU members, CA activists and allies helped scale back (and lessen in severity) the Governor's worst cuts:

• Home care: In-home Supportive Services (IHSS) will be cut by 20 percent instead of 90 percent.
  
• CalWORKS will be cut 40 percent instead of eliminated entirely.
  
• Healthy Families: The Governor wanted to eliminate the program entirely - instead, it was cut by 50 percent.
  
• Education: Despite deep cuts to education, Proposition 98 was not suspended and legislative safeguards on school outsourcing were protected.
  
• State workers: Workers' pensions and health care were protected, and a fourth furlough day has not been issued like Governor Schwarzenegger threatened.

As California confronts severe budget difficulties in coming months, the war of words, lobby days and public actions are far from over. Middle-class families will continue to challenge state leaders to provide a common sense, balanced approach--even when it requires that our leaders have the courage to stand up to powerful corporate interests. More news and reports on the CA budget can be found from Rough & Tumble and California Budget Project.

Thanks to SEIU Local 1021 for this budget update.

"I need your help. Here in California there is a ballot initiative called Prop. 1A that would put a cap on what we spend. Supposedly in the good years, extra money would be put in to a 'rainy day' fund. In lean years, I think, money would be pulled back out."

A few days ago, we received a link to a video on Colorado's experience with TABOR, a law that -- like Proposition 1A in the May 19 special election -- put caps on funding for public services, using low-funded crisis years as the baseline. The video, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, shows how a so-called "Taxpayer Bill Of Rights" ended up costing taxpayers even more than before, while turning Colorado into one of the worst-funded states in the country for health care, education, senior services, and just about everything else.

Well, one of SEIU Local 1021's members in Sonoma County -- an Employment and Training Program Coordinator, Alix Shor -- felt compelled to dig deeper. She wanted to know if the video was true (will Prop. 1A guarantee budget disaster every year?) or just campaign propaganda from her union. So she wrote and asked a lifelong friend now living in Colorado.

"On the other hand, if Prop. 1A doesn't pass, the budget goes back to the Legislature whom I would like to fire every single last one of them for their doing nothing since Prop. 13 passed many years ago and completely ruined the state you and I grew up in. Excuse the rant."

Later, she e-mailed her friends and co-workers her friend's report:

"The video plus Ruth's take on what has happened...leads me to believe that as bad as it is to send the Legislature back to work on the budget, the long term effects of Prop. 1A will be so much worse."

So, thank you, Ruth in Colorado. And Alix, for asking her.

Read Ruth's report after the jump, as well a quick rundown of how Prop. 1A would affect California's budget and fiscal situation if written into the state Constitution.

Mass layoffs make front page news seemingly every other day. This week, layoffs lead in the Local 1021 NewsWire too.

A total of 2,632,336 people filed unemployment claims between December 2007 and January 2009 - the fallout from 25,712 mass layoffs across America. More than half a million people lost their jobs in the fourth quarter of 2008 alone. The national unemployment rate reached 7.2 percent to close the old year, 7.6 percent to start the new. In California, already third-worst in the nation, unemployment reached 10.1 percent last week, a rocky, mountainous height it hasn't seen since the 1980s.

Closer to home, layoffs and mandatory unpaid furloughs have been affecting SEIU Local 1021 members too, reducing the availability of public services and even shutting down cities like Oakland, where our city workers have already taken half of the 12 furlough days they've been handed in the current budget.

In San Francisco, nonprofits staffed by Local 1021 members just took another $3 million in case manager layoffs and cuts to mental health, substance abuse and other public health care services. And despite a massive public outcry that produced 500 speaker cards at a Feb. 13 public hearing, 70 rec and park directors received pink slips last week, leaving the city's children with after-school places to go but no one waiting for them.

We say: Another way!

At the table in Contra Costa County, where Local 1021 is part of a bargaining coalition, management has said it's willing to hear ideas on temporary labor cost savings to prevent permanent pay cuts, but some layoffs cannot be avoided. While making it clear we reject the County's proposed 5.5 percent pay cut, county workers are hoping the County will accept a labor-management committee to address workforce planning, especially as it affects job security.

In Mendocino County, members and management reached agreement on a 9-hour/4-day schedule that preserves jobs and prevents 12 furloughs by saving 10 percent on labor costs. Where bargaining has dragged on for months, Oakland and Sonoma County workers have launched public campaigns against waste, fraud and abuse in city and county government, looking for unseen fat to trim from the top.

Together, these examples spell out the message SEIU 1021 is sending across northern California: In tough economic times, takeaways and layoffs are not the answer. But where layoffs are inevitable, we'll work with employers to reduce their impact and find other savings that let critical public services continue.

Action Center: Economic Recovery Resource Fair: March 14

While we can't stop the tide of layoffs, we can look to the future. That would be the 1021 Economic Recovery Resource Fair at the end of this week.

An afternoon of panels, presentations and clinics can point you to what you need to know about unemployment benefits, home foreclosures, credit and debt management, resumés and job interviewing, and more. Join us. Your family, friends and neighbors are welcome to attend.

Saturday, March 14 -- 2-5p
UC Berkeley, 2601 Warring St., Berkeley
Clark Kerr Campus, Krutch Theater, Bldg. 14
www.seiu1021.org/events/Ecoomic_Recovery_Resource_Fair.aspx