Posts tagged SEIU Local 521
California Policy Center: The unions that count California’s votes
June 15, 2026 // Union contracts also make the organized workforce harder to bypass or supplement. Los Angeles, like other counties, must give notice and bargain before contracting out work its represented employees have historically done, so a registrar facing a slow count cannot simply bring in outside help. This dependency deepened when California began mailing a ballot to every active registered voter during the COVID pandemic. A mailed ballot adds a labor-intensive chain not required for in-person ballots, including signature verification, envelope opening, extraction, and scanning, often performed by permanent unionized staff over weeks. The count has thus consolidated into a single central operation dependent on a unionized workforce.
City of Santa Cruz workers will strike next week
October 5, 2022 // “It’s unfortunate that it has reached this point,” said Santa Cruz City Manager Matt Huffaker. “But we are striving to meet the needs of our employees while also being fiscally responsible.” Workers with SEIU Local 521, are frustrated with the city’s inability to recruit and retain employees to reach adequate staffing levels, treatment of its workers, and the attempts to compare cost-of-living adjustment proposals accepted by city executives to the salaries of front-line service workers, according to union organizers.
County at an impasse: Union workers say they’re set to strike next week; management says deal is fair
January 20, 2022 // “While we hope for a quick resolution we are prepared for the long haul,” Hoppin said. “Unfortunately, it is those members of our community who depend on county services and staff — from public health workers to benefits representatives to road repair crews — who will bear the brunt of this decision.”