Last year, SEIU Local 221 members elected a County worker as president. County workers in SEIU 221 have racked up impressive victories ever since.

New Leadership Leads to New Strength in San Diego County

Our union mobilized like never before during the campaign for the new County contract. During negotiations, SEIU 221 members and leaders were a constant presence at the County Board’s meetings—and at their microphone. We made sure the voice of County workers was heard. You can see SEIU 221 in action at the Board of Supervisors’ meetings in March, April and May.

For too long, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors ignored the voice of County workers. But that’s impossible now. Because our union is rooted in San Diego, we’ve been able to work year-round with local allies to elect pro-worker candidates. And that’s leading to victories County workers hadn’t seen in years.

The Historic County Contract Is Just One of SEIU 221’s Recent Victories

The strong new County contract isn’t the only victory SEIU 221 members have won since electing the union’s new leadership team. Here’s a summary of other recent wins:

• Securing Juneteenth as a new paid holiday for County workers. SEIU 221 worked to ensure that Juneteenth, the new federal holiday, would be extended to County workers as well. On June 13, the County signed a Letter of Understanding with SEIU 221 officially declaring Juneteenth an annual paid holiday for County workers.
• Ending the Sheriff Department’s Punitive Language Policy. In March, three SEIU 221 workers were disciplined for speaking in Spanish at their workstations. Our union immediately organized a campaign to clear the workers’ records and change the English-only policy. The department removed the entries but then created a new policy that was even more harmful to bilingual employees. SEIU 221 President Crystal Irving sent a cease-and-desist letter and demanded to meet and confer about this policy. After months of organizing, the Sheriff’s Department removed the policy entirely.
• Major Progress for Caregivers in County Jails, More Gains on the Table in Collaborative Solutions Committee. Through our new Collaborative Solutions Committee, SEIU 221 health care workers in County jails just won a strong increase in their premium pay. SEIU 221 members in other Departments have also been working to win improvements through the committee and we hope to have more victories to announce soon.