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President's 180 Day Letter


November 19, 2007


Dear Member,

When I first started as your President I made the commitment to communicate regularly with you.  In keeping with this commitment I am proud to submit this 180 Day Report to you.  For your convenience I have broken up this letter by department. Each Department has been working on exciting and innovative approaches to assist the Local in achieving our mission of becoming the leading voice for San Diego and Imperial Counties’ working families.


OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Wildfire Relief
The disastrous effect of the numerous wildfires throughout our region was a challenging time for us all. During the time of crisis our union reached out to members and offered assistance and volunteered in evacuation shelters around the county.

Soon after the fires began we gathered vital information of assistance for our members and put the information on the SEIU Local 221 website. Every member received a pre-recorded call from me alerting them of our efforts and directing them to our website for assistance. Staff and members called our entire membership list to make sure that everyone was okay and to assess the impact the fire had on them, their families, and their property.

We converted our small conference room to a comfort zone for evacuees with a television, phone, e-mail access, food and beverages.  Members who needed a break from shelters were encouraged to come to our office in Kearny Mesa and take full advantage of the comfort zone. We developed an assistance program to help SEIU members and their families who were affected by the fire.

Staff and members went to various evacuation centers to locate SEIU members and give them information on the program that our union implemented. I want to particularly acknowledge the Poway school bus drivers who volunteered to drive buses and evacuate patients from Pomerado Hospital and nursing facilities and transport them to safety. They were featured in the Beijing newspaper, on CNN and worldwide news sources as a great example of the efforts that were made by San Diegans to do their part in this disaster.

Budget Committee
I have appointed a select subcommittee made up of members and individuals from the Executive Board to develop a draft budget for FY 2008.  The subcommittee has taken their job very seriously and has been meeting each week to guarantee that our operating budget is complete by the end of the year.  One of the recommendations that the Budget Subcommittee made is that we use reserve funds to pay off the building at 4004 Kearny Mesa Road in San Diego.  The interest rate on our mortgage was more than the return on our investments.  The Executive Board overwhelmingly approved this recommendation and I am pleased to say that we now own our building!  We plan on having a mortgage burning party in the future, to which all members will be invited.   

Presidential Endorsement
Our Local union has been participating in the International Union’s discussion of endorsing a candidate for President of the United States.  Although I did not vote to endorse a candidate for the Presidential Primary, the SEIU California State Council voted to endorse John Edwards for President. 

Veterans & ARMS Committee (Active-Duty/Reservist Military and their Spouses/Families)
The Veterans and ARMS Committee had its first meeting on September 19th and is continuing to seek interested members to shape the committee’s mission and goals.   Our goal is to create a committee that will connect our military families to resources that honor, support and empower them.  If you are a veteran, in active duty, a reservist, or have a spouse/family member in the military, we encourage you to get involved.  For more information contact Alecia Bacon, Staff Director at 858-560-0151, x234.


BARGAINING AND TRAINING
Bargaining
We settled three contracts were settled in the cities of La Mesa and Imperial Beach, and with the San Diego Housing Commission.  All three negotiations were a struggle but in the end our members won by having taken action for the contracts in their worksites.
 
In La Mesa, the negotiations team worked hard to get the city to implement a class and compensation study that had been completed last year.  While we were unable to get the city to address all of the wage issues, we were able to take a large step towards correcting some of the inequities.  La Mesa members were being paid an average of 8% below the median for other cities in the area (in some cases the inequity is as high as 17%).  Workers led a delegation to the City Council Chambers, where I spoke in favor of establishing equity for La Mesa city workers.  Negotiators Frank Vitale, Bobby Barton, Mike Byerly, Don Palmer, Allen Edwards, and Maxine Lynch (staffed by Lois Balfour, Director of Training and Bargaining, and Michael O’Connor, Worksite Organizer)  were tireless in their efforts to get the best deal for La Mesa workers.
 
The Housing Commission contract was an even greater challenge.  Early in the negotiations we settled a 2% wage increase per year for three years. The negotiations team worked with Local 221’s Government and Community Relations Department to leverage significant pressure on the San Diego City Council to back the demands of our members.  The major fight occurred when the Housing Commission insisted on taking away one holiday and refused to accept our demand that Resident Managers have greater flexibility in scheduling.  The contract went to impasse, which was resolved in our favor thanks to the actions of our negotiators and the help from our political allies.  The negotiation team worked with Local 221’s Government and Community Relations Department to put significant pressure on the San Diego City Council.  Our work with the City Council paid off and we settled our contract!  Negotiators Deborah Whitfield, Mamie, Nancy Del-Rio-Tooson, & Schenelle Johnson (assisted by Vernon Green, Worksite Organizer, and Lois Balfour, Director of Training and Bargaining) were determined to secure a winning contract.
 
In Imperial Beach, the city actually had some money in their budget for employees (this has not been the case for years).  The negotiation team was able to get a wage increase of 4% in July 2007 and 3.5% in July 2008.  In addition, we were successful in getting the City to cap employee PERS contributions and give employees an additional $100 for health insurance.  Our negotiation team consisted of Jack Cellano, Mary Blair, Michael Murphy, Tania Velero (assisted by Michael O’Connor, Worksite Organizer, and Lois Balfour, Director of Bargaining and Training). 
 
Fallbrook Union High School District settled a re-opener for 4% effective July 1, 2007.  Rose Peralta, Janet Lambert and Rick Franklin were on the negotiations team (assisted by Terri Valladolid, Deputy Director of Bargaining and Training).
 
Negotiations for a full contract at Grossmont High School District and re-openers at Poway Unified School District, at MAAC Project, and Episcopal Community Services are currently underway.
 
We are already actively planning for the 2009 negotiations with the County of San Diego.  Our goal is to have a comprehensive bargaining plan prepared by the beginning of  2008.
 
Training
Terri Valladolid, Deputy Director of Training and Bargaining, has instituted a training plan to ensure that our staff has the training they need to be effective in the worksites.    The Department has held two stewards’ trainings and Terri is making plans to take the training to any worksites that can commit to having eight potential stewards.  The training plan for 2008 is being developed and will provide training to worksite leaders as we assume our new role as a consolidated public sector local in San Diego.

INTERNAL FIELD STAFF
Worksite Visibility
In an effort to increase our visibility at the worksites, we have instituted a new calendar/route plan where worksite organizers are required to have regularly scheduled worksite meetings.  These meetings will occur monthly, every other month or quarterly depending on the need and size of the membership at that location.   Flyers will announce when these regular meetings are scheduled. Additionally, the calendar will be placed on the Local’s website. To better facilitate the disbursement of information, worksite organizers have identified every SEIU Local 221 bulletin board within the County, Cities and Districts, and we have scheduled a blitz to standardize the bulletin boards so up to date information will be available to our members.  Regular updates to the bulletin boards will be ongoing.   

Stewards Roundtable
We held a Stewards Roundtable Meeting on October 4th.  The purpose of the roundtable is for stewards from the County, Cities and Districts to come together and share ideas, worksite issues, experiences, challenges and continue to learn in an atmosphere of peer support. 

Staffing
We have hired two new worksite organizers to further meet the needs of our members.  Alexis English comes to us with several years of union experience and will be covering the schools of Poway, Grossmont and Fallbrook Unified School District, as well as the MAAC Project.  Hershel Struthers has also joined our local and will be covering Neighborhood House Association and Episcopal Community Services. 

EXTERNAL ORGANIZING
Our external organizing staff is working hard on two campaigns.  The first is an agency shop campaign with Head Start workers at Neighborhood House Association, and the second is a campaign to affiliate public employees associations in San Diego and Imperial Counties. The key elements of these campaigns include educating workers about the role of the union at their worksites and communities, recruiting workers to become members of the union, and motivating union members to become involved in union activities. We also strategized with members on how to make the improvements that matter most to them at work and in our communities. Our efforts have successfully resulted in increasing membership in Head Start and laying the groundwork for strong partnerships in Imperial County. 
 
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS (GCRD)
Member Political Organizers
The Member Political Organizers Committee (MPO) increased in membership by 25%. MPOs help guide the staff of GCRD in implementing the political programs of our union.  In the last 90 days our MPOs have lobbied every State Senator, Assemblymember and Member of the House of Representatives on the issues that matter to our union, such as comprehensive health coverage in California and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation in the United State Congress. 

Sister Local Project
In September GCRD was able to assist SEIU Local 205 in Nashville, TN on their local races for Mayor and Metropolitan District Council.  Local 205 paid for all of our staff’s expenses.  GCRD staff worked alongside dedicated SEIU Local 205 members and staff to engage rank and file members in phone banking, precinct walking, and worksite visibility.  Our efforts paid off and together we were able to win 26 out of the 34 local government races we participated in. 
 
Communications Review Committee
Our Communications Department is actively recruiting members for the Communications Review Committee. This committee will review Local 221’s flyers, newsletters and brochures and give feedback on how we can improve these communications with members.  If you are interested in being part of the committee, please contact Melinda Battenberg, Communications Specialist, at 858-560-0151 x224. 


Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and learn about the activity that is taking place in your union.  I encourage each and every one of you to get involved in anyway you can to make our union stronger.  My office continues to have an open door policy.  If you want to speak to me about any issue, I encourage you to call my office manager Alecia Bacon, at 858-560-0151 x234. 

Sincerely,

Sharon-Frances Moore
President