{"id":62682,"date":"2025-11-20T21:56:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T21:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/62682\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T21:56:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T21:56:18","slug":"cfa-members-lead-at-seiu-california-convention-as-president-margarita-berta-avila-wins-purple-bear-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/62682\/","title":{"rendered":"CFA Members Lead at SEIU California Convention as President Margarita Berta-\u00c1vila Wins Purple Bear Award\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This month, hundreds of SEIU members from every local and every corner of California showed up, spoke out, and charted the course ahead for our union at the quadrennial SEIU California convention, \u201cDemocracy Is Union Made.\u201d Delegates approved core commitments put together by a select committee of SEIU members that will guide us in the years ahead as we\u00a0set\u00a0our legislative and electoral priorities. During the convention, members collaborated, spoke up, and\u00a0finalized\u00a0our commitments. CFA\u2019s own Melina Abdullah, Michelle Ramos Pellicia, and President Margarita Berta-\u00c1vila were among the committee delegates and presenters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" data-id=\"32021\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11.09.2025-SEIU-Convention-10-jpg.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32021\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"1170\" data-id=\"32016\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11.09.2025-SEIU-Convention-5-jpg.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32016\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1166\" height=\"874\" data-id=\"32018\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11.09.2025-SEIU-Convention-7-jpg.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32018\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" data-id=\"32024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1109_2025-Convention-Day-3_186-scaled-jpg.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32024\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" data-id=\"32020\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11.09.2025-SEIU-Convention-9-jpg.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32020\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"1170\" data-id=\"32015\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11.09.2025-SEIU-Convention-4-jpg.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32015\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" data-id=\"32014\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11.09.2025-SEIU-Convention-3-jpg.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32014\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" data-id=\"32013\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11.09.2025-SEIU-Convention-2-jpg.webp.webp\" alt=\"CFA members at the SEIU convention\" class=\"wp-image-32013\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The core commitments were:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Defend our democracy and freedoms\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Protect our communities from federal assaults and cuts\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Grow our union and our movement to build power for working people\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Make California a place where working families thrive\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>President Berta-\u00c1vila also\u00a0facilitated\u00a0the \u201cDefending Immigrant Communities\u201d panel, alongside SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias. This panel featured Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA; Flor Melendrez, executive director of the CLEAN Carwash Campaign; Becky\u00a0Belcore, co-director of NAKASEC; and Martha Arevalo, executive director of CARECEN and TPS Alliance. The panel centered on the work being done to protect our immigrant workers and communities throughout the state, and what work needs to be done\u00a0in order to\u00a0continue the fight for immigrant rights.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To conclude the convention, President\u00a0Berta-\u00c1vila\u00a0was awarded the SEIU CA Purple Bear Activist Award to recognize the work and leadership she has\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0during her time with CFA and among her communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1109_2025-Convention-Day-3_163-scaled-jpg.webp.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32023\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Margarita Berta-\u00c1vila exemplifies the heart, courage, and\u00a0commitment\u00a0this award honors. A proud Xicana from El Salvador and Peru, and CFA\u2019s first Xicana president, she has spent more than two decades advancing equity, justice, and dignity for faculty, students, and working families. Her leadership builds inclusive spaces, models compassionate accountability, and inspires members to act with courage, care, and solidarity. For her visionary leadership, her lifelong commitment to justice, and her unwavering belief in the transformative power of our union, she is deeply\u00a0deserving of\u00a0this honor.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This month, hundreds of SEIU members from every local and every corner of California showed up, spoke out,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,27910],"class_list":{"0":"post-62682","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-union-power"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}