About MB CLC

The Monterey Central Labor Council is the "union of all the unions", representing 60 AFL-CIO and Change to Win labor unions on California's central coast.  We are governed by a diverse and democratic assembly of labor movement activists who meet monthly and together represent over 30,000 working families.

The Labor Council supports local unions in strikes, organizing and contract campaigns.  We also organize solidarity and collective action among different kinds of workers and their unions, and helps to build a bridge between workplace and community action.  We are committed to labor-community organizing for healthcare, economic justice and immigrant rights.

AFL-CIO - America's Union Movement
Change to Win - The American Dream for America's Workers
California Labor Federation - Building Power for California's Working People

Follow this link for staff and other contact info

The Executive Board meets monthly at AFT 1936 in Watsonville. Delegates are welcome. Please contact us for more information.

Executive Board Officers (Bios follow list of email addresses):

President Robert Chacanaca AFT 6084 hongqi@hotmail.com Executive VP Jeffrey Smedberg SEIU 521 unionize@calcentral.com Secretary Treasuer Francisco  Rodriguez AFT 1936 fcordgz@cruzio.com VP -                 Santa Cruz Co. Bonnie Morr UTU 23 bonniemorr@sbcglobal.net VP -          Monterey Co. Mark Weller UNITE HERE 483 markw483@aol.com Trustee Albert Morin Carp 505 al11965@yahoo.com Member-at-Large   Susan Carter IBEW 234 applejelly555@yahoo.com Member-at-Large  Esai Alday UFCW 5 ealday@ufcw5.org Trustee  Paul Johnston AFT 2199 pauljohnston@cruzio.com Member-at-Large   Blas Barroso UFCW 5 bbarroso@ufcw5.org Trustee  Nick Steinmeier SEIU 521 nick.steinmeier@seiu521.org Member-at-Large  Sam Saiu IAM 93 samsaiu93@comcast.net Member-at-Large  Eduardo Montesino UTU 23 montesino@att.net Member-at-Large Eric Karo C,L&G D-46 Boilermakers thevocal@calcentral.com Member-at-Large Joe Keffer CWA 9423 joe.keffer@earthlink.net

For many years, the Santa Cruz and Monterey county councils each had a long and proud history reflecting the important role of labor in the history in this region. In 2001, members of both councils recognized that labor's new challenges require a larger and stronger organization.  So the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council was born, representing working people from the fields of the Salinas Valley to the multi-faceted community of Watsonville to the hotels of the Monterey Peninsula to the halls of the University of California in Santa Cruz.

More about our Executive Board Members:

Robert Chacanaca is the president of Local 6084, the Santa Cruz Council of Classified Employees.  He serves on the national, state, and local levels for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).  He is the Classified Council President for the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and serves on the Program and Policy Committee for the Executive Council of the AFT.  He has been a past dues-paying member of the following unions: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), American Federation of Governmental Employees (AFGE), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), California School Employees Association (CSEA), and All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).

Jeffrey Smedberg has been a member of SEIU Local 521 for two decades by virtue of his work as recycling coordinator for the County of Santa Cruz.  His activism has included solidarity work such as in the 2004 Safeway boycott supporting Southern California grocery workers; organizing such as temporary workers unionization drives at the City and County of Santa Cruz; political work including promoting universal single-payer health care legislation; and peace work with US Labor Against the War to support our troops by bringing them home alive now.

Mark Weller is Projects Coordinator for UNITE HERE Local 483, where he has worked for Monterey Bay hospitality workers since 1999.  Mark is a Trustee of the Culinary Insurance and Pension Funds, President of the Pro-Democracy Education Fund, and past teacher and union member at Cal State University Monterey Bay, San Jose State University, and San Benito High School.

Susan Carter - I have lived in California all my life.  Monterey Bay has been my home since 1967.  I joined my first union in 1972 (Carpenter's Union Local 505).  Other than a short time working as a waitress/cook, I have belonged to several unions in this area (CSEA, UTU Local 23).  I currently belong to IBEW Local 234 and have been an electrician since1992.  The union life has always been a part of my family.  My father was a shop steward for many years in the UAW. His father was a union longshoreman back in the early years in the East.  I am very proud of my union family history and if possible always willing to help when necessary to benefit union causes.

Paul Johnston is a longtime labor-community activist, sociologist, & member of the AFT, who has published numerous articles and a book about social movement unionism. He dropped out of college as a freshman in 1970 to work for the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, later worked for SEIU’s public worker unions Local 715 (“Silicon Valley”) and Local 400 (SF city workers), started teaching classes in strike strategy in 1977, returned to school in 1982, earned a BA, MA & Ph.D., and became a professor of sociology at Yale University from 1989 through 1997.  After the passage of Proposition 187 in 1994 he returned to California to study and participate in the labor movement response to the attack on immigrant rights.  From 1995 through 2003, he helped build and lead the Citizenship Project, a pioneering immigrant workers organizing center in Salinas.  From 2003 through 2005, he served as the secretary-treasurer and executive director of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, and still serves on the executive board of that organization.  During these years, he has maintained research appointments at the University of CA at UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley.
 

Sam Saiu - Currently serving as a Business Representative with IAMAW Local 93, based in San Jose.  Appointed to this position in July 1990 after 22 years as a rank and file member of Local 504 working in the Power Transformer Industry in Milpitas for North American Transformer.  Served for approximately 17 years as either a Shop Steward or member of the Local's executive board, or both, before being appointed to my current full time staff position.  Joined the IAMAW in September 1968 after a 4 year term of active duty in the USMC.  I am presently on the Executive Board of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, and Sgt. at Arms on the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council.  Serve on the Machinists JATC and as a Trustee of the Santa Clara County Machine Shop Pension Trust.