We are excited to announce that our union has secured a solid, six-month agreement with LA County. Our Bargaining Policy Committee (BPC) overwhelmingly recommends that we vote YES.
From the outset, we fought for four strategic priorities, and we won them all. Here’s what’s on the table.
First – our union won Heroes Pay for All, while the other county unions simply rolled their contracts over for another year. We secured everyone across-the-board, one-time bonuses for every SEIU 721 member in Los Angeles County.
Next – our union got more healthcare cost coverage for everyone. Health insurance costs are predicted to go up. But this win secures more than enough to cover 2022 premium increases – with more cashback for UHC Signature members and more money toward other benefits for Kaiser and UHC Harmony members.
Finally – our union won a new holiday – Juneteenth! This is more paid time off for everyone. In 2018, SEIU 721 won a new Cesar Chavez Day holiday for all of us – the first new paid holiday in over 35 years. This time around, we won a new Juneteenth paid holiday for all of us – the second we’ve negotiated in three years.
This special, six-month deal has big wins – but it’s also very strategic. In 2022, we’ll start negotiations much earlier – so, we’ll be the ones setting the terms. We’ll also be negotiating before the County has adopted their next budget.
These results prove that the pressure our union members put on the Board of Supervisors worked. We reached out to over 40,000 members during bargaining, and convened 2 tele-townhalls with more than 22,000 participants. We sent out tens of thousands of emails and text messages to members, and LA County members sent thousands of messages to the Board of Supervisors. We took part in over 150 actions across LA County, and the Supervisors listened. We turned up the heat at our worksites, at Supervisors’ field offices, at the Hall of Administration, and in the media. Our union spoke out – and we won.
This is a solid, six-month deal that uplifts our work and the communities we serve. Our BPC overwhelmingly recommends that we vote YES.
Stay tuned for more information on next steps in the contract ratification process. And for real-time union updates, text SEIU to 721721.
Together, we win!
How much is the heroes pay? I’m about to eave the county. Been working this whole time!
Information on Heroes Pay bonuses will be available soon. Be the first to know by texting SEIU to 721721 for breaking news and important updates.
So what about us in Riverside County?
What is the amount of the one-time bonus?
Information on Heroes Pay bonuses will be available soon. Be the first to know by texting SEIU to 721721 for breaking news and important updates.
Could you explain how pushing negotiations into next year will be beneficial? From my understanding, the County is sitting on a surplus of cash RIGHT NOW and it would seem that the people responsible for keeping our communities afloat should receive heroes raises, if not in addition to, than at least in place of a onetime heroes bonus. The cost of living is rising every year and now more than ever is the time to fight against stagnating wages. If things go south between when this contract is finalized and the 6 months between renegotiations, LA County is going to… Read more »
Bargaining was very tough, most other unions did not receive anything and just rolled over their current contracts. The County of course wanted to give us nothing and tried to use the budget crisis as justification. Rest assured this was a hard fought victory that took 150 actions and media appearances putting pressure on the Board of Supervisors. A 6 month contract is strategic because being the first union to bargain mean we set the terms instead of letting other smaller union bargain first and set lower terms. More info on that in the post.
Please provide more details on the one time payment.
We want to be sure to get you updates as soon as we have them. As you can expect there are A LOT of details so we will get further details out as we have them.
They say that crime doesn’t pay… but apparently neither does being a hero.
Is hero pay only for nurses?
No, all County workers will be receiving a bonus. Information on Heroes Pay bonuses will be available soon. Be the first to know by texting SEIU to 721721 for breaking news and important updates.
So I would like to know if this will apply to Riverside County as well?
No all Counties bargain their own contracts as they have their own budgets and Board ofSupervisors.
So who do I pay my Union dues to?Is it SEIU as a whole or is it just funding my board for my county?
Your dues go to SEIU. We bargain with the County Board of Supervisors who are in control of County workers contracts.
What about Disaster Workers? I worked as a Disaster worker for 8 months last year.
We are working to ge answer to our unique circumstance and those who had similar assignments and will post updates as soon as we have them
The CARES Act does not permit the compensation of employees outside of DHS even if their assignment involved temporarily working with DHS.
If I retire before the heroes pay is given, will I still get it?
We are working to ge answer to our unique circumstance and those who had similar assignments and will post updates as soon as we have them
What is the raise percentage going to be and when will the bonus kick in?
Details can be found in our latest blog post here:https://www.seiu721.org/2021/07/la-county-here-are-our-tentative-agreement-highlights.php
Everyone needs to remember this point when the one time “hero bonus” is discussed. Whatever figure is agreed upon you, the “hero” will only receive a portion of the total amount. Let’s say the county says we all get $500 in “hero pay”. We have to pay taxes on that so you won’t really be getting $500 or whatever the final figure is. That brings me to my next point. How can our union tell us to vote “yes” when they don’t even know the final details of the negotiations yet?
Yes your bonus will be taxed the same as your regular pay, we all have to pay taxes unfortunately. We are working hard to get all the information out to you accurately.