June is an important month for fairness. . .celebrating Juneteenth and Pride.
Happy Juneteenth! Happy Pride! Happy 100th Anniversary MEA!
This June, let us celebrate what people achieve when they work together, and how being an MEA member amplifies that work at the City. Since 1926, MEA has been fighting for fairness for members here at the City.
Happy Juneteenth!
Three years ago, the City agreed to MEA’s proposal to add June 19 (“Juneteenth”), as a new paid City holiday, While Juneteenth is recognized as a holiday by all 50 states and the federal government, it is not a paid holiday for most. MEA members identified this as priority and MEA was able to make it happen with time and concerted, collective effort.
Happy Pride!
In the early 1980s and 1990’s, local governments were on the forefront of expanding recognition and rights for domestic partners, including fighting for health care coverage, and MEA members identified it as a priority at the City.
Again, over time and with concerted, collective effort, in 1994, MEA negotiated domestic partner health insurance coverage as an expanded benefit in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). It was the first year that the City provided coverage for the domestic partners of employees.
Now, marriage equality is the law of the land. While the fight for fairness isn’t over, it is important to honor what has been achieved, and collectively, keep doing the work.
The Right to Employment Fairness
Did you know that as a public employee and union member that you have the right to employment fairness?
The Early Years
Fairness in employment at the City began with the voters adding Civil Service protections to the City Charter in 1915 by a two-thirds majority. The Civil Service created a merit-based system for hiring and promotions, and rules for fairness in employment, which, while amended over the last century, generally still stand today.
In November 1949, MEA urged its members to vote Yes on Proposition D, which amended the Charter to clarify hiring, promotions, and other employment processes – specifically the rules against racial, political, or religious discrimination in civil service, and clarified the credits for military service, including for those who became disabled through military service (see photo).
San Diego’s protections preceded the California Fair Employment Practices Act (1959) and the Federal Civil Rights Act (1964) by years.
Over time, Federal protections have expanded to cover more people and circumstances, making it illegal to discriminate against job applicants or employees because of a person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and transgender status), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.
Enforcement is crucial and MEA can help
Getting laws passed is not easy and enforcing them is crucial. For each one of these workplace protections, people have come together collectively to fight for their rights, and in some of those fights, lives have been lost and livelihoods have been lost, and for all of these rights, the histories of the fights and their ultimate successes are incredibly moving. But the work is not over; the work of enforcement is continual.
As an MEA member, you help create the ability to enforce and expand the protections you have at the City.
While laws and Charter changes are difficult to make happen, and are broadly applied, every MEA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is negotiated with improvements to your rights and working conditions as a City employee, based on what has been happening in your workplace, and always with your help.
What are your rights and how do you help protect them?
We are a strong, effective union because we stand together. Membership provides the collective power and resources to protect fairness.
If you feel that something unfair has happened in the workplace, reach out to your MEA Labor Relations Officer to understand your rights and how to enforce them. We are your resource and advocate in the workplace.
MEA members have come together for 100 years to get us where we are now, and what we do today is the foundation for the workers who come after us.
Happy Pride! Happy Juneteenth! Happy 100th Anniversary MEA!
