Over 95,000 workers comprise the membership of SEIU Local 721 – making it the largest public sector union in Southern California. SEIU Local 721 represents people working in hospitals, foster care, mental health, courts, law enforcement, libraries, street services, beach maintenance, sanitation, water treatment, parks services and watershed management. The hard work of SEIU Local 721’s members keeps some of America’s largest counties and world-class cities running – including Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside and Santa Barbara, as well as municipalities like Azusa, Beaumont, Palm Springs, Pasadena, San Fernando and Santa Ana, among others. SEIU Local 721 also represents workers at publicly funded non-profits, like health clinics, in addition to employees of special districts and private universities.
But the mission of SEIU Local 721 extends beyond securing strong contracts that provide good pay, benefits and retirement security for our members. Our union fundamentally believes in the need to lift all working families across America because we understand that our strength as workers is grounded in our ability to rise together as a country. That is why SEIU Local 721 actively supports the nationwide “Fight for $15 and a Union” to lift the wage ceiling for workers from coast to coast. It’s why SEIU Local 721 exposed how Wall Street banks gouge cities like Los Angeles hundreds of millions of dollars in excessive fees – public funds that should be spent repairing streets, fighting blight, restoring public services and building American infrastructure. And it’s why SEIU Local 721 fights for equal protection under the law for everyone – whatever their race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, military status, physical ability, age, medical condition or immigration status.
SEIU Local 721’s ability to bargain effectively for our members coupled with our dedication to empowering all Americans is what makes our union a growing and formidable political force locally, statewide and nationally. We recognize our value. We understand the direct correlation between effective public services and a strong public sector workforce. We know that America works because we do. We know that we are stronger together – and that, together, we win!