Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1021 is a Northern California-based local union of the SEIU, representing service employees, nurses, other healthcare workers, and government workers. Like its parent organization, SEIU 1021 is very politically involved, particularly in left-of-center circles. It consistently supports and endorses Democratic, left-progressive, and outright-socialist candidates and ideas throughout Northern California and in cities like San Francisco. ¹

Founding and History

SEIU 1021 was founded in 2007, with a merger of ten Northern California SEIU locals as part of a restructuring strategy within SEIU led by then-union president Andy Stern. ² This merger made the 1021 one of the largest local chapters in the country with 42,000 members, a number which has since increased to 55,000. ³

Its large size and rapid formation, however, led to a series of early conflicts within the local. Its executive board, headed by CEO Damita Davis-Howard, was appointed by Stern; this unilateral leadership decision proved to be controversial among some members, who viewed the merger as an attempt by national leadership to consolidate power. The creation of the SEIU 1021 “mega-local,” as such large mergers were called, went on to cause significant recruiting tension between SEIU 1021 and local rivals Unite Here and the National Union of Healthcare Workers. ⁴ In 2010, opponents of the Stern-appointed board won union offices. ⁵

Activities

On top of typical union activities like collective bargaining, SEIU 1021 endorses local candidates and ballot measures in Northern California. Historically, SEIU 1021 has endorsed candidates and policy proposals to the left of the Democratic Party establishment. In 2018, for example, it supported left-wing former State Senator Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), against incumbent U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D). Its members and professional organizers also participate in left-wing advocacy rallies, such as 2019’s anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement rallies in San Francisco, at which union leadership accused the Trump administration of caging children at the southern border. ⁶

Finances

SEIU 1021’s most recent publicly available filings show total revenues of $51,777,200 and total expenses of $44,370,859. In 2017, SEIU 1021 spent nearly $450,000 in support of local progressive candidates and organizations. ⁷

Leadership

The president of SEIU 1021 is Joseph Bryant. He is the son of former SEIU 1021 officer James Bryant, who was identified in a Los Angeles Times investigation that found that James Bryant, who sat on the union’s political committee, was collecting double salaries: $10,000 directly from the union and another $117,000 from a nonprofit funded in large part by union dues. ⁸ James Bryant was beaten during the union’s 2010 officer elections, in which the Stern-appointed Board was swept out of office. ⁹

The vice president of organizing of SEIU 1021 is Jennifer Esteen. In a January 2020 interview with the left-of-center Action Network, she made comments critical of the American capitalist system, remarking that, “Capitalism has us so fooled into thinking that we have to be productive at every moment of the day.” ¹⁰

1. Bradshaw, L. (2017, January 01). Setting the record straight about SEIU 1021. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://socialistworker.org/2014/10/28/setting-the-record-straight-on-1021
2. Our History and Vision. (2018, April 04). Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://www.seiu1021.org/history-and-vision
3. SEIU Local 1021 (Department of Labor File Number 543-658), Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2019, Item 20
4. Shaw, Randy. “Rejecting Stern Appointees, SEIU1021 Members Give Reformers Election Sweep,” March 1, 2010. https://beyondchron.org/rejecting-stern-appointees-seiu1021-members-give-reformers-election-sweep/.
5. Shaw, Randy. “Rejecting Stern Appointees, SEIU1021 Members Give Reformers Election Sweep,” March 1, 2010. https://beyondchron.org/rejecting-stern-appointees-seiu1021-members-give-reformers-election-sweep/.
6. “Children Don’t Belong in Cages”. (2018, April 04). Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://www.seiu1021.org/post/children-dont-belong-cages
7. SEIU Local 1021. (n.d.). Retrieved August 31, 2020, from https://www.influencewatch.org/labor-union/seiu-local-1021/
8. Pringle, P. (2009, March 11). Finances of charity run by SEIU official scrutinized. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-mar-11-me-union11-story.html
9. Shaw, R. (2010, March 1). Beyond Chron: Rejecting Stern appointees, SEIU1021 members give reformers election sweep. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://nuhw.org/beyond-chron-rejecting-stern-appointees-seiu1021-members-give-reformers-election-sweep/
10. Network, A. (n.d.). A Conversation with Jennifer Esteen, Vice President of organizing for SEIU 1021- Part 2. Retrieved August 31, 2020, from https://actionnetwork.org/campaigns/a-conversation-with-jennifer-esteen-vice-president-of-organizing-for-seiu-1021-part-2