“Welcome back to school,” says President Conrado Guerrero to his LAUSD co-workers

Dear SEIU Local 99 Member:

As we prepare for the new school year, I want to take a moment to recognize you for all you do.

Although SEIU Local 99 members often work behind the scenes, we know that great schools start with us!

• School bus drivers are usually the first face a child sees
• Custodians and Maintenance crews have spent the past weeks getting our schools sparkling and in good working order
• Food Service employees make sure children don’t go hungry so they can concentrate on learning
• In the classroom, SEIU Local 99 members give children that careful attention they need to succeed
• After school, we continue the school day for thousands of LAUSD students
• Our Community Reps ensure parents get the support and information they need to stay engaged in their children’s learning
• And countless others keep our schools and district offices running smoothly!

We do so much…let’s remind the District!

As you know, we’re currently negotiating our next union job contract with the District. Our Bargaining Team is doing a good job of making sure the District understands the value we bring to our schools. To join us, make sure you’ve pledged to stand with our Bargaining Team => visit www.qualityschoolsbetterlives.org and click on the “Take Action” link. We’ll need to stand united as these negotiations continue…and if necessary, get a little louder! So stay tuned!

Here’s what we’ve proposed at the negotiating table:

1. Better staffing levels
   (Read Julio‘s and Willie‘s stories)
2. Fair wages
   (Read Thresa‘s story)
3. More training and educational opportunities to advance our careers
   (Read Maria‘s story)
4. Safety & respect on the job—we want ALL employees to be highly valued
   (Read Grace‘s story)

Be sure to look for our Bargaining Updates here => www.qualityschoolsbetterlives.org/updates

Summer Bridge: update on Assembly Bill 621

Many of us are finishing up a “cruel summer” without work and with bills piling up. As Bargaining Team member and Special Education Assistant Bart Weil says, “Every November, I’m still paying bills from June and July.” We have fought long and hard to end the cruel summer for school workers, and our bill in Sacramento has a shot at making it to the Governor’s desk.

Watch the progress here => www.qualityschoolsbetterlives.org/summerbridge/#steps

And be sure to be on the lookout for emails and watch our Facebook page—that’s where you’ll learn whom to call, email and even visit to make sure every leader in Sacramento knows how important this is. We dedicate our lives to students and schools. We shouldn’t suffer like this in the summer!

This Labor Day, we’re going to flex some UNION MUSCLE!

Stay tuned for details—we will march and rally this September 4th. I’m sure that like me, you’re fed up with a system that’s rigged against us: stagnant wages, decreasing hours, bullying at our job sites, cruel summers. The number one concern for our leaders should be to raise the standard of living for working families—by raising wages, supporting and creating good jobs, and making sure employers can’t play dirty as they fight strong unions. On Labor Day, we celebrate our union because it’s only through standing together that we have a strong, collective voice on the job and in society. Through our union, we’ve fought off changes to our health benefits, recently expanded those benefits to T.A.s, won one of the largest minimum wage victories in the national “Fight for $15” movement, fought off arbitrary changes that the District wanted to make to our working conditions and, most recently, successfully ended frivolous “Z Time” rules for our Procurement members.

When we fight, we win!

Welcome back to school. See you on campus…

Conrado Guerrero
President, SEIU Local 99 
LAUSD Building Engineer