 In this newsletter you will find: Invest in a “Healthy Future Now” Fighting Together Amid COVID-19 Tell Your Senators to #ProtectAllWorkers: Pass the HEROES Act Their Fight Is Our Fight #JusticeForGeorge Reminder – SEIU 521 Scholarship Deadline this Sunday Become an SEIU 521 Member Today COVID-19 Hotline & Resource Toolkit Invest in a “Healthy Future Now!”  Workers who were on the frontlines leading the fight against COVID-19, and who protect our community while propelling our economy, deserve a whole lot more than words of recognition. Governments at every level — city, county, state, and federal — need to step up, and take every available measure to avoid cuts to services and increased unemployment. Our elected officials must instead invest in healthcare, housing, child care, and the green economy that working people and families desperately need and support. When we work, we spend money in local businesses, our economy expands, and we generate tax dollars for vital services. This is known as “bubble-up economics,” which will put our economy on a faster, more equitable path to recovery. Join us to tell our elected officials to invest in a “Healthy Future Now:” https://www.seiu521.org/healthyfuturenow  Join us to tell our elected officials to invest in a “Healthy Future Now:” https://www.seiu521.org/healthyfuturenow Fighting Together Amid COVID-19 Our Invest in a “Healthy Future Now” campaign is our collective fight ahead to protect our co-workers, families, and the communities we serve every day. And we know that it is possible because our members across the state have already been leading the fight against the economic impacts caused by the novel coronavirus. Not only are we on the frontlines protecting the health and safety of our community, but we have come together to protect each other and have been successful. At Salud Para La Gente in Watsonville members came together to win the reinstatement of all fellow members who were both being furloughed and laid off. Workers from Santa Clara County joined forces with the Registered Nurses’ Union (RNPA) to file a Public Employment Relation Board (PERB) charge challenging the County’s abuse of Disaster Service Work assignments. Just last week PERB informed our Chapter Leaders that they were granted an expedited request and review. This has the potential of setting a state-wide precedent when it comes to ensuring employers negotiate Disaster Service Work assignments with unions. Check out the news coverage in the Mercury News: https://bit.ly/MercNewsSCCperb Tell Your Senators to #ProtectAllWorkers: Pass the HEROES Act  Every day that passes without relief legislation means more of us get sick without the protections we need, lose our jobs, lose sleep wondering how we’ll keep our homes, and more of us go without the essential hazard pay we deserve. The House recently passed legislation to address many of these issues through the HEROES Act, but the Senate has yet to act. Meanwhile, companies are making out like bandits while our public services—like processing millions of new unemployment claims—are on the cusp of running out of funding. Tell your Senators to put workers first with no blank checks for corporations: https://protectallworkers.org/sign In addition, the HEROES Act provides $12.15 billion in funding to provide child care or adult care services for essential workers, including healthcare workers across the United States. Ask Senator Harris and Senator Feinstein to use their leadership to move the HEROES Act quickly through the Senate: https://childcareprovidersunited.org/heroes-act-petition Their Fight Is Our Fight #JusticeForGeorge  “Our souls cry out in anguish and we hear a ringing hollow. The hate-driven and senseless murder of George Floyd only further deepen the already-profound wound from systemic injustices that Black and other communities of color are confronted with in everyday America. Systematic racism is an illness inflicted upon our nation that for hundreds of years has permeated every aspect of our lives —be it at work, as we worship, or even daring to just go out for a jog. The only way to uproot it at its core is by standing up and together dismantling these structures of oppression while simultaneously building up much-needed protections for our working class. Racial and economic justice are inextricably linked, and we have the power to achieve it. We owe it to ourselves, to our children, and to our communities. Thankfully, our union brothers and sisters have long known the widely ignored cure: only by standing up and speaking out together will we eradicate the structures of oppression that ultimately hurt the lives of all working people. Whether you are Black, brown, Asian, native, or white, it is past time to take a stand! Enough is enough. Do not turn a blind eye to racism.” – SEIU 521 President Alysia Bonner & SEIU 521 Chief Elected Officer Riko Mendez Graphic Credit: @shirien.creates / Instagram Reminder – SEIU 521 Scholarship Deadline: This Sunday! SEIU 521 awards the Ann Cervantes yearly college scholarship opportunity to enable members and their children to pursue their educational goals at colleges, universities, labor study programs, and technical schools. The scholarship is named after Ann Cervantes, a former SEIU 521 community and political organizer who passed away in 2016. The scholarship recognizes Ann’s contributions to the labor movement and provides 10 winners with $1,500 each for their first year of study. The application deadline is on Sunday, May 31, 2020. Learn more: https://www.seiu521.org/scholarships Become an SEIU 521 Member Today! Our strength lies in our unity and our members. With more members, we have more power to win better contracts and a stronger voice to protect our rights, healthcare, and retirement benefits. By being an SEIU 521 member, you are investing in your future. Calculate the union difference here: https://uniondifference.org Members are also eligible for many exclusive benefits, including the SEIU free college program, scholarships, discounts, and more. Learn more: https://www.seiu521.org/benefits Join SEIU 521 Today: https://members.seiu521.org/SEIU521MembershipApplicationExternal.aspx COVID-19 Hotline & Resource Toolkit Visit the COVID-19 online toolkit with resources, information, and updates for our SEIU 521 members: https://www.seiu521.org/covid19 In the COVID-19 online toolkit page you will find: – Local, State, and Federal Resources – Fact sheets and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Our union’s demands of employers – Preventive actions taken by our union – Mental health support We will continue providing updates to the COVID-19 toolkit as they become available. |
