With contracts between LA County and its largest employee union set to expire at midnight on September 30, more than 2,000 LA County employees called on the Board of Supervisors to support an agreement that protects services in the economic downturn.

Photo: Cat Clark, a clerk at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, in a photo that ran in the Los Angeles Times

More than 55,000 LA County employees are negotiating a new contract that will protect the County's ability to serve 10 million residents in this economic crisis. SEIU 721 represents RNs, public health, park employees, social service workers, library employees and others who work directly with the public.

County employees gathered on Tuesday morning, September 29, for a march and rally at the Hall of Administration. They filled a giant puzzle box with pieces representing the crucial services that they perform, asked County Supervisors to help build a better LA County -- then sent County representatives and employees to the LA Convention Center for a final round of talks before the September 30 deadline.

"This economic crisis is an opportunity to really make our County work better for residents. It's a totally new approach, and residents will see the results," said Linda Dent, an intermediate clerk in the Treasurer-Tax Collector's office and vice president of the SEIU 721 executive board.

SEIU 721 bargaining teams' proposals represent a new approach to bargaining and aim to streamline and improve direct services to the public and reduce costs for County taxpayers:

• Better libraries through decentralized book buying to reduce costs and provide more relevant selections for local patrons
• Shorter lines at the Registrar Recorder's office for residents who are seeking a birth, death or marriage certificates;
• Safe parks by providing uniforms for employees to help deter crime and graffiti at County parks
• Safer animals and communities by giving animal control officers the right, simple equipment like boots to rescue animals in the fires and keep people safe from vicious animals
• Cost-savings by training county staff to do the work instead of spending on expensive contracts.

SEIU 721 bargaining teams hope to reach an agreement with the County by midnight Wednesday, September 30. Members will then have to vote to ratify the agreement...we'll bring you updates as they come in.

SEIU Local 721 in southern California has launched a new website dedicated to exposing waste in government spending and improving the delivery of public services. The site is a part of the local's new Center for Public Accountability project, which also promotes protections for whistleblowers.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Local 721 calls for California's attorney general to investigate allegations that executives at the Tarzana Treatment Center may have diverted, or allowed the diversion of, up to $22 million in assets that could been used to help thousands of people overcome substance abuse, mental health issues, and HIV/AIDS. Visit www.AccountableCalifornia.org for more information.

Over the last week and a half, SEIU Locals in California, New York and Oregon have reached new or tentative contract agreements that will benefit nearly 13,000 workers. Contract highlights include lessening the impact of budget cuts on workers' jobs and pocketbooks, and wage and benefit increases.

CALIFORNIA
Largest Vote in SEIU Riverside History leads to Contract Agreement
Roughly 6,000 public service workers of SEIU Local 721 reached a contract agreement with Riverside County on September 1, ending a five-month-long negotiation process. Union members overwhelmingly voted 93 percent to approve a one-year ratified agreement, making this the largest ratification vote in SEIU's history in Riverside County. With the new contract, members gain overtime rights, limited furloughs and a fairness agreement among all county employees. More details here.

Calexico City Employees Win Huge Victory
California City Employees who are members of SEIU Local 221 won a huge victory this week, pushing back on budget cuts proposed by the Calexico City Council that would have made drastic cuts to pay and benefits, along with implementing 18 furlough days. The City Council listened as members found other cost-saving measures the council could use to fill their budget gap instead of making up the difference on the backs of workers. This victory was a real demonstration that when members stand up for themselves, positive change can happen. Read more.

2,600 Workers at Stanford University ratify new contracts w/ wage, benefit increases
Members of SEIU Local 2007 ratified a new five-year contract on September 3 that includes a 12.5 percent wage increase, preserves jobs and increases training by implementing an apprenticeship program with the trades. According to BNA Daily Labor Report, the jointly-developed apprenticeship program--$120,000 of which Stanford will fund--will allow workers to move up the career leader in their fields (such as electricians) as well as provide the kind of training which would give them the opportunity to move to a different career.

1,450 SEIU-UHW hospital workers at the Palo Alto facilities, Stanford Hospital and Lucille Packard Children's Hospital voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new two-year contract on August 28 that offers 4 percent wage increases and ratification bonuses. Stanford employees had been working for several years without a contract, and bargaining had been stalled by management. More details on the victory at SEIU-UHW's website here.

NEW YORK
Workers at Presbyterian Senior Care Centers Overwhelmingly Ratify New Labor Agreement
Approximately 270 1199SEIU workers employed by Presbyterian Senior Care at its two facilities, Harbour Multicare Center and Hawthorn Multicare Center, overwhelming voted in favor of a new labor agreement on August 31. Highlights of the new contract include pension improvements; annual wage increases, and improved holiday pay for part-time employees. More here.

OREGON
OR University System Members Reach Tentative Agreement on Two-Year Contract
"You stood up, hung tough, held out and adhered to principle," said an special email from the SEIU Local 503 bargaining team after reaching a settlement on a two-year contract late Friday night, giving 4,000 members in the Oregon University System a special reason to celebrate Labor Day. Contract highlights include fully-paid health care premiums for full-time employees and withdrawn proposals for unlimited furloughs and an across-the-board pay cut. The agreement includes essentially matches the deal struck six weeks ago on behalf of state workers and assures that the workers, their clients and the services they provide will not take an excessive hit as lawmakers work to close a multi-billion budget gap.

Another highlight: The 14 part-time recyclers at Portland State University, who became Oregon's first unionized undergrads when they voted unanimously to join SEIU, are covered by the contract. Read more about the agreement here.

Please feel free to offer congratulations to these workers and the bargaining teams that worked so hard on their behalf in the comments section below.

Now more than ever public services are needed: Pat Bryan, Ventura County Steward and Animal Control Officer knows first-hand the impact of job loss, foreclosures and a weak economy. The animal kennels in his California region are filled to capacity and in the past few months they've even been taking in horses. Recently, a Ventura County Star reporter and photographer spent the day with Bryan. Click here to read the full story.

Shelter officials across the U.S. say they are seeing more and more pets being brought in by their owners because they can't afford to care for their pets, or they have lost their homes and have to move to apartments or mobile homes that don't allow dogs or cats. In Los Angeles, for example, the number of dogs and cats turned in to the city's six animal shelters increased 14 percent to 55,742--the highest rate in five years, according to city data.

« Read more about SEIU Local 721 LA County animal workers here.
« Tips for home owners with pets when faced with foreclosure

As the City of Los Angeles faces an unprecedented budget crisis, nearly 500 city engineers have voted to unite in SEIU 721 to have a stronger voice at work and unite with the 22,000 other City employees in the Coalition of LA City Unions, of which SEIU 721 is a member. The LA City Council also voted on Friday by a vote of 14-0 to approve a landmark agreement between the City and the Coalition of LA City Unions that will avert layoffs and furloughs and prevent major service reductions.

Another group of 1,500 City of Los Angeles professional employees will have the choice to vote for SEIU in a run-off election, to be scheduled at a later date. Read more here or visit www.UnitedforLA.org.

By overwhelming margins, California voters rejected the false solutions on the special election ballot in the May 19th statewide election, sending Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature back to the drawing board. SEIU members helped defeat several propositions that would have hobbled the state's public services with devastating cuts to community-based mental health services, health care, education and child welfare. Voters rejected a permanent cap on public service spending by a margin of two to one.

What was on the ballot: Prop. 1A put caps on funding for public services, using low-funded crisis years as the baseline, and also greatly enhanced the Governor's power to make mid-year budget cuts to pretty much any department without having to ask the Legislature. SEIU also opposed Prop. 1D and 1E, which raided children's health and mental health funds. By defeating Proposition 1E in particular, union members helped prevent more than $460 million in cuts to vital mental health services--and protect the successful Mental Health Services Act approved by California voters five years ago.

SEIU members in California joined with clients, families, workers, advocates, and community leaders in the effort to defeat Prop. 1A , 1D and 1E, making phone calls to thousands of SEIU members, participating in the May 13 rallies in downtown Los Angeles and outreach to members at their worksites and online. And their hard work paid off by a wide margin: 65.9 percent of voters said "no" to Prop. 1A, 65.8 percent rejected Proposition 1D and 66.4 percent voted "no" on Proposition 1E. Read more about the election results in the San Francisco Chronicle.

At a rally held at the downtown Los Angeles state building on May 13th, SEIU Local 721 members and community advocates gathered to show support for mental health services and oppose the May 19 ballot measure, Proposition 1E. Prop. 1E would cut nearly $500 million from community-based mental health services and shred innovative programs that provide more than 600,000 Californians with a fresh chance at better lives.

At last Wednesday's rally, Local 721 member Ron Ruiz, a part of LA County's mental health care team, shared his view on how Prop 1E would hurt quality mental health services:

Until pretty recently, many people had never heard of "green-collar jobs." Yet the phrase is suddenly everywhere--especially on policymakers' tongues. "You can think about a green-collar job as a blue-collar job that's been upgraded, or unskilled, to better respect the environment," says Van Jones, the newly-appointed special adviser to the White House on green jobs, enterprise and innovation.

In the greening of the economy, workers and low-income people are not a liability or a line item--they are a part of the solution. One union leading the way on green initiatives is SEIU Local 721. Local 721 is part of the LA Apollo Alliance, which helped LA make green history on April 8 when its City Council approved a first-in-the-nation plan to create jobs, cut carbon emissions, and create a way out of poverty for disadvantaged workers. The ordinance supports a green retrofit of city buildings that will provide "green training" to low-income workers and create hundreds of good jobs.

SEIU's largest property service local 32BJ has established an energy-efficiency training program for building superintendents and many other locals (including 721) are working to develop similar green custodial programs.

We know SEIU members and their local unions across the country are working to promote energy efficiency and quality green jobs--but we want to hear more. Please share with us what your union is doing, because we'd love to highlight it on SEIU.org.

On March 19, 2009 at Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in LA, Robin Lewis of SEIU Local 721 told President Obama directly how important health care reform is for her son, Kolin, when the President looked for her after his LA town hall.

"He found me after and he came up to me and said 'Now what was your question. I need to know your question,'" Lewis said.

Lewis told him, "I need your help. My son has a cancerous brain tumor and I need some help. The American people need help. We need to reform health care and I want to help you do it." Lewis's 20-year-old son, Kolin, needs regular medical attention as he continues to recover from a brain tumor.

Although Robin Lewis receives family health benefits through her job with the LA County Dept. of Children and Family Services, like hundreds of thousands of young Californians, her son lost his coverage under her plan when he turned 18. The high risk of her son's cancer reoccurring require that he receive continual medical care and MRI's every year--all of which are extremely costly.

Despite a memory disability and enduring months of physical therapy to regain the use of his left side, relearn to walk and dress himself and many other basic functions, Kolin graduated from high school and is now taking classes at Fullerton Junior College each semester. He is currently receiving health coverage through a patchwork of Medi-Cal and other benefits, but he'll lose this coverage when he turns 21. Paying for private insurance for Konlin will cost more than one-third of Lewis' income, and without health care reform she's not sure how they'll get by.

After the town hall, Lewis says "the president got my information and he told me he would help me and I would be in his prayers and that we would fix health insurance."

"It's heartbreaking to not be able to take care of your child's health," said Lewis. "We need to have affordable health care in this country and it shouldn't be dependent on your job or age. I have hope President Obama will keep health care a priority."