FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2 AT 10AM
Contact:
Jenna Thompson, jenna@paschalroth.com, (916) 444-7280
Maria Elena Jauregui, Spanish-language, 818.355.5291
On Eve of Presidential Candidate Summit in Los Angeles, Over 1500 Workers to March on LAX; Demand Elected Officials Support “Unions for All”
Senator Kamala Harris to Join Massive Rally of LA Working People
LOS ANGELES — Over 1,500 airport workers, Uber and Lyft drivers, janitors, LA City workers, LA County workers, fast-food workers, homecare providers and child care providers among other union workers will unite for a massive march through LAX on October 2. Taking place the day before Democratic Presidential candidates will take the stage in Los Angeles for a summit to answer questions from union members and other working people, marching workers will demand that elected officials, locally, statewide and federally, take action to support unions for all people–no matter where they work.
WHAT: 1,500-person march, including a motor-march by Uber and Lyft drivers, through LAX to demand elected officials support “Unions for All”
WHO: Senator Kamala Harris; Janice Hahn, LA County Supervisor; Kevin de León, Former State Senator; Mary Kay Henry, President, Service Employees International Union; Over 1,500 workers, including airport workers, LA City workers, LA County workers, child care providers, janitors, Uber and Lyft drivers, fast-food workers, home care providers and other union and not-yet-union workers
WHEN: Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 10 AM
WHERE: 6101 W. Century Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045 (Century Blvd and Avion Dr)
VISUALS: Over 1,500 workers marching into LAX’s Terminal 1, Uber and Lyft drivers motor-march through LAX terminals, banners, drumming, chanting, signs
Working people chose LAX for their march because it’s the place where working people welcome visitors to our great city every day, making LAX one of the major economic drivers for Southern California and a symbol of the global community that lives and works in the Los Angeles area. But it’s also a symbol of a divided city that works for big developers, big airlines like Southwest and American Airlines, companies like McDonald’s, Uber and Lyft, and other big corporations across LA–even when those corporations don’t work for the people of Los Angeles.
The working people who make these corporations successful and our city flourish still struggle to afford rent, food, gas, child care, and school supplies and are being forced out of the neighborhoods they’ve called home by skyrocketing rents. Marchers will call on candidates and local leaders to help make LA for All–starting with demanding that Southwest, American Airlines, United, Uber and Lyft commit to giving everyone the opportunity to have a union–so that the working people who make our city one of the most prosperous places on earth will be able to live, work and raise families in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles march will take place on the eve of the October 3 – 6 Unions for All Summit where more than 1,000 working people united in SEIU and the Fight for $15 and a Union will come together to hear from and push presidential candidates on a Unions for All agenda, how they would make it easier for every working person to join a union, no matter where they work. At the summit, working people are going to ask candidates about their plans to put power back in the hands of working people. SEIU and Fight for $15 members will stress how the right to join a union needs to be at the center of these plans, and is central for winning quality, affordable healthcare, a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, and clean air and water for everyone in this country.
The march into LAX’s terminals will be live-streamed here: https://www.facebook.com/seiu721/ and https://www.facebook.com/UnitedServiceWorkersWest/.
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Airport Workers
Contracted airport workers around the country are coming together in Airport Workers United to raise their voices for higher working standards and union rights to make our airports safe and secure for passengers, employees and our communities. By sticking together, speaking out, and going on strike 30,000 airport workers have joined SEIU and 144,000 have won raises or other improvements, including healthcare, paid sick leave, and job protections.
Airport Workers are available for interviews. Please contact Andrew Hagelshaw at 415-377-8734.
Mobile Workers Alliance
Mobile Workers Alliance is a diverse movement of Uber and Lyft drivers across Southern California organizing to end misclassification in the rideshare industry and build a strong, driver-led union. For too long, Silicon Valley giants have actively exploited their growing workforce, gaming the system by misclassifying drivers as independent contractors in order to avoid paying the minimum wage, or providing basic protections like paid sick days and unemployment insurance. 2019 has seen an unprecedented wave of driver organizing across California, and drivers organizing with Mobile Workers Alliance have notched landmark victories, including the passage of Assembly Bill 5, which will end gig economy misclassification by making drivers employees, and the drafting of a $30 minimum wage for rideshare drivers in El Monte, CA ($15 for wages, $15 for expenses).
Drivers are available for interviews. Please contact Mike Long at 213-304-9777.
Fight for $15 and a Union
Since 2012, the Fight for $15 and a Union has grown into an international, worker-led movement to demand higher wages and union rights at McDonald’s and across the economy. We have won more than $70 billion in raises for more than 24 million workers across the U.S. Today, more than 30% of all workers in the United States are on their way to earning $15 an hour. This progress was made possible by the thousands of workers who have taken to the streets, gone on strike and raised our voices to demand higher wages and union rights.
Last week, workers in Los Angeles walked off the job to demand a seat at the table with McDonald’s to help solve systemic problems like low wages, sexual harassment and workplace violence. More than 50 McDonald’s workers have filed complaints and lawsuits with the company about sexual harassment, including 25 in 2019.
Child Care Providers United (CCPU)
Brings together thousands of child care providers throughout California to improve their profession and ensure every child has access to quality early learning and care. CCPU is made up of a statewide partnership between three powerful unions – SEIU Local 99 Education workers in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, SEIU Local 521 in the Central Valley and Bay Area, and United Domestic Workers Alliance in San Diego. As union members, child care providers have a powerful voice to improve their livelihoods and the services they provide. Together, they’ve already been able to win rate increases, improved state funding for early care and education, more training for providers, and additional child care slots for families. To continue to win lasting changes for child care, providers are on the verge of winning state legislation that will grant them collective bargaining rights. Providers will finally have a seat at the table to negotiate with the State of California to win permanent, binding improvements for providers, children, and working families.
Unions for All Summit
More than 1,000 working people united in SEIU and the Fight for $15 and a Union will come together for our Unions for All Summit in Los Angeles on October 3 – 6, 2019. Workers will hear directly from 2020 candidates at the Summit, including Former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Cory Booker, Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, South Bend, Ind. mayor Pete Buttigieg, Former Member of Congress Beto O’Rourke, and others. Members of SEIU and workers fighting to form their unions are demanding that candidates unabashedly champion economic and racial justice and commit to throwing open the doors for every person in this country to have the opportunity to join a union – no matter where they work – because we know this is the best way to raise wages, improve working conditions, create family-sustaining jobs, and begin to fix the rigged economy.
For more information specific to the Unions for All Summit contact: Sara Lonardo, 202-412-2153, sara.lonardo@seiu.org.
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