UDW members and leaders joined our parent union, AFSCME, for a stop in San Diego yesterday on their nationwide “Staff the Front Lines” tour.
The morning started with a listening session with leaders from AFSCME, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, and Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins. UDW members along with AFSCME Local 127 shared ideas about how to increase recruitment and retention across our workforces in San Diego.
Following the listening session, leaders and union members met with press to discuss the importance of public service work and encourage others to join our ranks.
“UDW members do the work that makes all other work possible—we’re the backbone of this city’s economy,” said UDW Executive Director Doug Moore. “Through our union, these frontline workers fought for and won vital protections during COVID. They pushed for the $15 minimum wage. They won overtime pay for caregivers for the first time in history.
And our child care providers just signed their second-ever historic contract with the state of California, increasing subsidy rates as high as 20% and building a pathway to retirement security and health care access.”
UDW child care member Miren Algorri also spoke during the listening session and press conference, telling reporters that, “when I was a little girl, I watched women like my mother strengthen and educate other women, me included, so that we could change what it means to be a family child care provider in California… and change we have made!”
“At the core,” she continued, “being a child care provider is about giving back to our communities, but now, thanks to all the hard work our union has put in, we can also have core benefits that help US grow and be successful.”
To learn more about the AFSCME Staff the Front Lines event in San Diego, click here.
