Community Services Unit & Part-time Recreation Leaders

Chapter Principles: Organizing, Democracy, and Transparency

Statement of SEIU 1021 Berkeley CSU/PTRLA Values and Vision

Adopted by General Membership on June 16, 2023

Democracy, transparency, and organizing are the guiding principles for the CSU/PTRLA Chapter. SEIU and the Chapter agree to the following principles, which will be codified in the Chapter’s bylaws. 

I. Organizing

Rationale: engaging members to build collective power for themselves and their coworkers (organizing) and using power in a transparent and democratic way are the central aim of the Local and Chapter Board.

  1. All forms of labor peace1 are anathema to organizing and will be opposed vigorously. 
  1. In addition to solving problems, the purpose of the grievance and all other union processes is to organize members to leverage collective power. The union will not spare resources in these endeavors and will be expedient in moving proceedings along in consultation with Chapter Board, on behalf of members, to ensure due process.
  1. Chapter Board officers will engage and include workers in all union processes with an emphasis on understanding what is important to workers, educating them on the vision to win, identifying key leaders who can grow the movement and calling the question for collective action.
  2. One-on-ones between workers are the foundation of organizing and will be encouraged and pursued by the Chapter Board and SEIU at every juncture. 
  1. We welcome new units into the CSU/PTRLA bargaining unit when City of Berkeley workers seek to join together with us in building worker power. 
II. Democracy

Rationale: Workers learn to the extent they participate and participate to the extent they learn. For a movement to grow it must be rooted in the priorities of the workers and at every step facilitate self determination of impacted workers. Workers as a collective whole must democratically vote on questions of chapter wide significance.
 

  1. Agreements that are reached between the City, SEIU and the Chapter without meaningful and deep engagement, transparency and democracy (e.g., surveys, one-on-ones, general membership meetings, newsletters etc.) lack legitimacy.
  1. SEIU will not make any agreements with the City without the approval of elected chapter leaders. 
  1. Elected chapter leaders will approve agreements with the City only after workers have voted to approve the agreement.
III. Transparency

Rationale: Without transparency, workers cannot exercise democracy and collective power is undermined.

  1. SEIU and member leaders will not engage in any communications or meetings with the City pertaining to the Chapter without including impacted workers and elected chapter leaders. Elected Chapter Board members will be included on any communications with the City.
  1. Elected chapter Board officers will not micromanage SEIU staff or member leaders, but must be kept informed on all communication so they can share pertinent information with and engage impacted workers.
  2. Any meeting or communication between the City and the Union will be open and accessible to impacted workers. All bargaining sessions including successor contract negotiations, meet and confers, strategy sessions and caucuses will be open and fully accessible to all workers in represented classifications within the CSU/PTRLA bargaining unit. Any group (e.g., class action) grievance process will be open and fully accessible to all impacted workers.  Any other meeting or interaction with the City, including discipline or grievance processes will be open and fully accessible to all impacted workers given the consent of the most directly impacted worker(s) including those in represented classifications within the CSU/PTRLA bargaining unit or the affected worksites.
  3. Elected leaders will notify and include workers on any and all opportunities to engage in meet and confer, bargaining sessions, or other meetings with the City that impact them. The Officers will post notice and access instructions for all meetings between any combination of the City, the Officers, or SEIU on the Chapter website and broadcast to members across communication channels built for workers.
  1. All Chapter Board meetings will be open to all workers within the CSU/PTRLA bargaining unit to attend.
  1. Labor peace is an arrangement between a union and an employer under which one or both sides agree to waive certain rights under law or tactics with regard to union organizing and related activity. ↩︎