Members from all four California SEIU Locals representing Head Start workers —99, 221, 521, and 1021—have now met twice. First in December in Los Angeles and most recently March 8–9 in San Diego.
This is the start of a new statewide council of SEIU Head Start members. The San Diego event was attended by 35 of us who are dedicated to making our communities better, family-by- family.
“This council will give us a stronger statewide voice to improve our Head Start programs, advocate for funding, and strengthen our contracts,” said MAOF Home Visitor and SEIU Local 99 Executive Board member Claudia Iraheta.
In San Diego, we discussed:
- Opportunities for educating politicians and community leaders about what Head Start does and how it benefits the community.
- Federal funding update including the good news that sequester cuts were restored and a small COLA will be in effect this year.
- How members of the Council could support Raising California Together Coalition, which is supporting increased funding for early education and a voice for family child care providers in the state. The Council voted to become part of the Coalition and selected two members to participate in Coalition meetings.
- How locals could advocate for Head Start and early education investment as part of local union COPE and political endorsement processes, and continue to look for opportunities to bring in elected leaders and candidates to “Walk a Day in My Shoes” with Head Start educators.
- A training session on leadership development. Also, each local selected members to serve on a Leadership Team to help implement the actions agreed to at the meeting, and to schedule and plan the next full meeting of the Council.
Thank you to all who participated! Together, it’s clear that we have the dedication, energy, and power to make sure our communities have greater access to great Head Start programs and to make sure Head Start jobs are good jobs.
| Be sure to watch this inspiring story about “3 Head Start Moms” => |
