SEIU Environmental Justice Newsletter April 2026

Things to look forward to:

The EJ and Climate team will be hosting a series of webinars for local staff and SEIU members. The first one is scheduled for Earth Day, April 22, 2026, from 7:30-8:30 pm EST/6:30-7:30 pm CT/ 4:30-5:30 pm PST. We’ll be discussing the causes, impacts, and 2026 projections for extreme heat as well as what you can do to protect yourself, your family, and co-workers.

Register here
Download and share the flyer here

Drive Electric Earth Month Ride and Drive Events

With gas prices at all-time highs, we know that many of our members are considering electric vehicles as a way to save money and, at the same time, help protect clean air. April is National Drive Electric Earth Month. There will be many opportunities to attend Ride and Drive events across the country. Look for one near you.

Low- and moderate-income California members may qualify for financial assistance through Access Clean California, a state program that helps people access clean vehicles, e-bikes, and other clean energy programs. Click here to check your eligibility.

A Year in Review

One Year of Trump Climate Power Recap: The administration's first year back in office was a betrayal of working people, rolling back protections and safeguards that protect the most vulnerable to pollution and environmental injustice.
The EPA has delayed, eased, or eliminated over a dozen regulations governing air pollution, water contamination, and planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions
The Trump administration defunded climate research, erased scientific data, and removed from federal websites terms related to “climate change”
SEIU members sent over 6,000 comments to the EPA opposing the rollback on the Endangerment Finding
SEIU members participated in OSHA’s public hearing on Heat Illness Prevention (4:14:00)
SEIU Member participated in the EPA’s public hearing on the Endangerment Finding (page 453)

Endangerment Finding

Trump upends the Clean Air Act’s ability to fight climate change by revoking the Endangerment Finding – SEIU fights back

On March 12, 2026, SEIU filed a legal petition in Federal court, in an effort to block the Trump administration’s rollback of the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to limit climate pollution under the Clean Air Act.

The petition argues that rescinding these protections ignores overwhelming scientific evidence and threatens the health and safety of workers and their communities nationwide.

“As hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and extreme heat intensify, working people are the ones paying the price with higher bills and worsening health,” said SEIU Secretary Treasurer Rocío Sáenz. “Deregulating pollution only lets corporations off the hook,” she added.

The SEIU challenge adds the voices of working people to an already large and broad coalition of health and environmental groups fighting the unlawful endangerment finding rescission. The American Public Health Association, American Lung Association, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Clean Wisconsin, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, Clean Air Council, Friends of the Earth, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Rio Grande International Study Center, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Law & Policy Center,  Natural Resources Defense Council, Public Citizen, and Sierra Club have also submitted similar petitions.

Read the petition here.
Read the press release here
Read more about this rollback here
Read more about the Administration’s action and its repercussions here, here, and here.
Access SEIU Social Media Tool Kit here