Improving Our Jobs and Communities

Fighting for the future we deserve is much more than supporting candidates and measures on the ballot. Our Campaign For A Secure Future holds those elected officials accountable once they are in office. We have taken over 50 actions such as advocating at council meetings and speaking at community hearings to ensure our political allies have our support and that their voting record reflects working families’ values.

 

When we harness the power of our brothers and sisters, we can ensure that when developers break ground in our backyard, they are doing it under union-negotiated, family-supporting Project Labor Agreements. UA Local 393 members have taken actions like going to city council meetings, picketing, and knocking on doors for candidates that support our values.

Since the campaign was launched hundreds of members have participated and joined our efforts. In 2016 alone, more than 500 hours of political and advocacy shifts were completed. Working class people like ourselves need elected officials that will champion family supporting union jobs. In 2016, we supported a slate of 71 candidates from local office to national, as well as 12 local ballot measures and 10 statewide ballot measures. Our time and hard work had a huge impact, and we were able to push 48 candidates to victory, as well as win 11 of the 12 local ballot measures we supported. We expect to win even more races in 2018.

This September, our advocacy led to another win for working families. Our members stood in solidarity with UA Local 483, SMART Local 104, and IBEW Local 332, and working families across San Jose. We advocated for – and won – a Project Labor Agreement on the sizable Museum Place Project!

But this campaign is far more than politics. Our members are committed to our community and our Local is rooted in community service. The Campaign For A Secure Future started a program of service hour requirements for our apprentices. Our members have served by volunteering at Sacred Heart Community Service, Veggielution, Toys for Tots giveaway, Chamberlain’s Children Center, and the Great American Litter Pick-up.

The responsibilities of Union membership include activism in our communities in support of working families. Volunteerism takes many forms, and it is an integral part of the development of the community it serves. And when volunteerism is done in conjunction with Union pride it further demonstrates the importance of the Union’s participation in our communities. We work here, we live here, and we act here to help our neighbors. Our willingness to execute the work needed to maintain the vibrancy and inclusive nature of our citizenry sends a vital message to everyone. It tells them that union members participate, contribute, and are an integral part of the community.

Our Campaign For A Secure Future has come incredibly far in these last two years, and has shown us that when we stand up for ourselves and our communities we can win. We won’t slow down. Please, join your brothers and sisters in the fight. When we each contribute a little, our collective impact makes measurable and significant positive change for working families.

Collectively, First and Second year apprentices completed 640 hours of community service. Below are the names of apprentices that completed more than double the required 6 service hours for the 2016-2017 school year. We honor these apprentices for their leadership and commitment to growing our Campaign for a Secure Future.

• Andres N. Sandoval • Frank D. Bernal • Karl C. Baumheckel • Dil B. Gurung • Chad A. Smith • Thomas J. Andino • Rajendra P. Devkota • Gary M. Flores • Daniel H. Duran • Michael D. Luce • James M. Modrall • Dinh T. Ho • Brian A. Finnie • Cliff A. Minier • Henry V. Pedroza • Aster Tseng • Sagendra Jonchhe • Jason W. Barrett • David Briseno • Jesus M. Garcia • Joshua R. Hansen • Victor B. Hernandez • Matthew L. Martinez • Randy M. Mullins • Desmond J. Peterson