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Nancy
Dominguez, Juvenile Probation Officer
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AROUND THE LOCAL
Sept. 2000
COPE Campaign
Northern California completed a wildly successful COPE drive, reports legislative and political director Jerry Fillingim. Field staff and members in San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, and Fresno offices worked tirelessly to sign up 535 members to contribute to the union's political action fund. At press time, 747 new COPE cards have been collected, making this the best drive ever. "This kind of political activism will push 535's strength and make our voice heard," says Fillingim.
It's
now "Honorable Nancy Dominguez." The union's Fresno County state executive
board delegate and Justice Worker's Committee chair filed for a seat on
the city council in her hometown of Kerman. No one else filed and the
rest is history. Congratulations Nancy!
Kudos to Fresno Area Substitute Teachers Chapter founder and president Shirley Kirsten, who has been elected president of the National Substitute Teachers Alliance.
The Los Angeles County Chapter mourns the untimely passing of Patti Kamoto, long-time leader and activist at the Department of Children and Family Services. During her long tenure with the county, Sister Kamoto served the children of Los Angeles with skill and dedication, and her fellow workers and union as a shop steward, executive board delegate, chapter treasurer, negotiator, and founder of the chapter's Caseload Committee. Our sympathies go to Patti's family. She will be sorely missed.
Local 535 was ably represented at the Democratic National Convention (union members represented 30% of the delegates at the political gathering). Attending were Phyllis Ward, Maggie Bilich, Elaine Duvali, Sarah Thomas, and Dion Aroner.
Local 535 state treasurer Roberta Ritchie resigned her office last August. In accordance with the local's constitution, President Bruce Peaslee appointed San Diego County activist Joan Valdes to complete Ritchie's term of office. Peaslee stated, "Valdes is a former treasurer of the local and brings tremendous experience to the job. We are very appreciative that Joan is willing to jump in and take up the duties of this office. We also owe Roberta a great debt of gratitude for her fine work during her tenure."
Local
535 has hired its first retiree organizer, Connie Langford, to organize
the union's growing numbers of retirees. Her first order of business:
recruiting new 535 members in Marin, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Santa
Clara, and Monterey counties. A 535 member for 24 years in Santa Clara
County, she was a union activist as president and chief steward of the
Santa Clara Supervisory Chapter and member of several contract negotiation
teams that achieved the first caseload standards in the state. "We will
be trying to form a critical mass so that retirees can achieve our goals.
It's a big step forward for the union and an indication of the growing
power of retirees." If you have retired or will be retiring within the
next three months, call Connie at (408) 293-0798 or e-mail her at clangford@seiu535.org,
or fill out the
retiree form on-line.
Training
Local 535's 2000 training program continues, reports training/education director Seth Schapiro. If you want more information please call Schapiro at (800) 535-8777 or e-mail him at sschapiro@seiu535.org. The following union training sessions will be offered.
Oakland
Office
Thursday
Night December
7 (topic to be determined)
San
Jose Office
Thursday
Night 5:30-8:30 pm November
16 (topic to be determined)
Fresno
Office
Thursday
Night 5:30-9:30 pm November
9 (topic to be determined)
Yosemite
October
24 Steward Training
Regional Center of Orange County
Local 535 members at the Regional Center of Orange County ratified a new three-year contract. The agreement contains a 25% bonus package to be paid over three years and a 3% across-the-board COLA increase. In addition, the agreement eliminates seven salary steps for service coordinators--all service coordinators below step 8 get moved to step 8 on the pay scale, representing approximately 17-21% wage increases that include nearly one-half of the service coordinator classifications; contract language covering bilingual pay and mileage; maintenance of membership and on-going dues check off. Congratulations to bargaining team members for a job well done: president Nancy Patterson, treasurer Jerri Whiteman, secretary Jan Draper, chief grievance officer Alan Tomczyk, and chief negotiator senior field representative Willas DeMorst.
Ventura County Community College District
The College District approved 6.3% pay raises for classified and academic staff, retroactive to July 1, 2000. The increases came about partly as a result of the new political climate in Sacramento and the number of new legislators elected with the support of SEIU, another indication of the important connection between politics and what public employees receive in wages and benefits.
Boycott
The Local 535 Civil Rights Committee urges a boycott of the San Francisco Marriott Hotel. Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 2 has been negotiating with the Marriott for four years for a first contract, though employees have overwhelmingly approved union representation.
Be Sure to Vote
Check out the union's political endorsements on pages 4 and 5, and on the politics page of the Local 535's web site, www.seiu535.org. Be sure to vote on November 7. For more information on how to help out on the election contact your union representative.