SEIU Local 199 represents the Custodian and Maintenance staff as well as Secretaries in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. In the 1920's, the Custodial and Maintenance bargaining unit was the first chapter organized in the state of Iowa with what was then Building Services International Union BSIU, which later became SEIU. The Secretaries affiliated with SEIU Local 199 to improve their ability to represent the needs of members of their Secretaries Association.