Mendocino County

SEIU 1021
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Region E gives out more than 350 turkeys during unity event

San Joaquin shop steward Louis Azevedo giving out a turkey

Rain couldn’t keep Region E members from coming together for their end-of-the-year unity event on Thursday, December December 21st – members gathered at the SEIU 1021 Stockton office to give out more than 350 turkeys to their fellow members.

Although the sky was dark and rainy, spirits were high.

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Despite dysfunctional board & challenging circumstances, Mendocino County workers move forward to ratify union contract

Mendocino County workers holding an informational picket

Tuesday, December 19th, 2023, 700 Mendocino County workers – including road crews, public health nurses, and children’s social workers – voted to ratify a union contract with a 77% “yes” vote.

Hard-fought over nine months, this agreement will bring all classifications’ pay up to market rate. This agreement will also have Mendocino County pick up a higher percentage of the cost of employees’ healthcare. Ultimately, these improvements will begin to address the long-standing staffing issues that are harming Mendocino County’s children, seniors, and families.

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California State Controller Malia Cohen launches audit of Mendocino County

On Friday, September 1, California State Controller Malia Cohen launched an audit of Mendocino County’s financial records. The audit comes in response to a formal request from SEIU 1021 North Coast Regional Vice President Mary Sandberg, who wrote her to express concerns about the County’s inability to provide accurate financial data – a situation that has severely hindered labor negotiations between the County and its employees.

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Clinic workers advocate for SB 525 at the state capitol

Last Tuesday, August 29, healthcare workers from across California rallied at the state capitol in downtown Sacramento. They were calling on lawmakers to support SB 525, a groundbreaking bill that would establish a $25 minimum hourly wage for healthcare professionals.

This wage would address staffing shortages by improving retention of existing healthcare workers and attracting new talent to the field. By pioneering this national wage standard, California hopes to set an example for the entire country.

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Mendocino County workers take fight against takeaways to the Board of Supervisors

Today, Tuesday, August 29, Mendocino County workers rallied at the Board of Supervisors meeting to defend county services. The rally comes after members voted last month by 92.4% to authorize a strike.

For the past five months, the county administration has refused to negotiate in good faith with its employees — all while staffing levels continue to hemorrhage. Fighting for the community’s access to road crews, public health nurses, children’s social workers, and other vital county services, County workers feel that the situation has become untenable.

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SEIU 1021 Vice President Requests State Controller Audit of Mendocino County

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

Contact: Ian Lee, ian.lee@seiu1021.org, (510) 384-7165

UKIAH, CA – On Friday, August 4, 2023, SEIU 1021 Vice President Mary Sandberg made an official request to California State Controller Malia Cohen’s Office to conduct an audit and review of Mendocino County’s financial condition. A copy of the official letter can be found here.

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Mendocino County Employees Vote Yes in Strike Authorization Vote

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

Contact: Ian Lee, ian.lee@seiu1021.org, (510) 384-7165

UKIAH, CA – On Friday July 28, 2023, Mendocino County workers represented by SEIU Local 1021 voted to authorize their bargaining team to call a strike, should a strike become necessary. The strike authorization vote passed overwhelmingly, with 92.4% voting yes. 

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Mendocino County Workers rally in the midst of strike vote to save county services

On Thursday, July 20, Mendocino County workers rallied in the midst of a strike vote to save county services.

Despite total revenue for Mendocino County having increased 44.8% since 2019-2020, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has continued to bargain in bad faith with its employees. In the most recent negotiations, the County suggested that its employees pay more for their healthcare and retirement – an overall pay cut that will further harm the County’s ability to address its staffing crisis.

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Mendocino County workers picket to save county services
The Board of Supervisors continue to fail to address staffing crisis, harming services for Mendocino families, children, and elderly.

Despite total revenue for Mendocino County having increased 44.8% since fiscal year 2019-2020, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors have suggested County employees pay more for their healthcare and retirement – an overall pay cut that will further harm the County’s ability to apply a tourniquet to its staffing crisis. As County workers continue to escalate towards what could be the largest strike Mendocino County has seen in recent history, County workers picketed Tuesday, July 11, outside the courthouse to save county services.  

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Mendocino County workers host strike school

After months of bargaining with a county administration that refuses to address its staffing crisis — leaving its families, children, and seniors in danger  — SEIU 1021 members at Mendocino County held a strike school on Wednesday, June 28, to educate themselves about their rights and responsibilities should a strike be necessary.

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Mendocino County Workers Ratify One-Year Contract with Plans to Hold County Accountable for Improved Process & Information Flow for Future Agreements
The new contract, which was approved by over 90% of voting members, includes a 2% cost-of-living adjustment and a one-time $3000 ARPA stipend, as well as larger improvements for certain severely understaffed classifications

SEIU Local 1021 members working for Mendocino County voted by over 90% last week to approve a new one-year contract with the County after almost nine months of contentious negotiations, during which county administration and the Board of Supervisors claimed repeatedly not to know or understand what was available to them in the budget.

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2022 Mendocino County Tentative Agreement Highlights
Here's a summary of what we won in our tentative agreement. Ratification happening this week.

Our contract campaign was incredibly challenging considering the level of dysfunction and lack of basic understanding of the county’s finances in both the Mendocino County administration and the Board of Supervisors. In the interest of providing some immediate relief to current employees and preventing the staffing crisis from growing worse, our union bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement that addresses some of our concerns while providing the opportunity to make more progress next year by reopening the contract at the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year.