Building Leadership to Win the Future
Local 1000 leaders and strategic partners commit to organizing to rebuild the middle class

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Working together to build a stronger, more responsive union, more than 300 member leaders, staff and community allies came together in San Diego Jan. 16th and 17th at Local 1000’s annual Real Time Strategic Change conference.

Responding to a changing political and economic landscape, the two-day meeting focused on developing member activists and leaders. 

“We are taking our leadership to the next level for the challenges we face in the months and years ahead,” said Yvonne R. Walker, Local 1000 president. “From enforcing our hard-earned contract rights and protecting our pensions, to building a stronger middle class, we must engage our members to build an army.”

“Our future … our choice”

President Walker spoke of the advances that Local 1000 has achieved after previous RTSC conferences. “Together, we agreed that ‘politics matter’ and have elected lawmakers who support the middle class. We agreed that we must be more relevant to our members by providing real representation at work and helping them to build more vibrant communities where they live.

“We have a responsibility to save the middle class and to fight income inequality whenever and wherever it exists,” Walker added “We must apply new tools and methods to become the union we need to be. Let’s not leave our future in the hands of others, because it is truly our future … and our choice.”

Community strength

Looking forward, Local 1000 will work to develop strategic partnerships with community allies who share our values and will join us in the fight for working families. “At the same time, we will strengthen our relationships with the state employees we represent,” said Tamekia N. Robinson, Local 1000 vice president for organizing/representation.

“We have to be morethan just the place that state workers go to when they need information about their benefits or retirement,” Robinson said. “Ultimately, it’s not about the information. It’s about nurturing real relationships and helping our members feel a deep connection with our values.”

Vice President for Bargaining Margarita Maldonado said that showing leadership at work and in your community can be personally challenging, but to be successful “we must all reach outside our comfort zones.”

“A key part of developing more leaders is to reach out to others and to create experiences for them to facilitate their personal growth,” Maldonado said. “By nurturing relationships and creating opportunities for others to grow, we all grow stronger as a union.”

Members and staff at the event all committed to helping build “Regional Communities of Leadership” throughout California and to working to develop a stronger movement to save the middle class from income inequality. The groups worked tirelessly throughout the two-day event to begin planning for future meetings and activities throughout the year.

“We have made the choice to state loudly and clearly that the purpose of Local 1000 is to be an organization that will stand with our members in their fight to build the kind of world they want to see for our children and grandchildren,” President Walker said. “We have begun the hard work of restoring the California dream. Now, it is time for us to dig deeper to develop more leaders who will stand with us as we fight for California’s future.”