A coalition of Oakland municipal unions are calling on city officials to reverse a decision to help balance a massive budget shortfall by, in part, laying of scores of workers.
In a letter to employees last week, City Administrator Jestin Johnson said the city sent layoff notices to 77 people in an effort to close the city’s roughly $130 million budget deficit.
On Tuesday, during a rally and news conference in front of City Hall, members of SEIU Local 1021, IFPTE Local 21, IBEW Local 1245 and IAFF Local 55 claimed the layoffs are illegal because managers failed to follow procedures established by the city’s charter and union contracts when sending out notices.
“Together we represent the librarians, the street cleaners, the first responders and so many more who show up every single day to serve this community,” said Julian Ware, vice president of IFPTE local 21. “But today, we’re here because the city administration is breaking the law and slashing the services that our neighbors rely on.”
On Monday, union officials said they filed charges with the state Public Employment Relations Board over the layoffs.
In a letter to Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins, Johnson and the City Council, union leaders said the administration never gave them a list of employees targeted for layoffs and failed to provide details about the city’s financial situation.
“The unions were left completely in the dark until our members received layoff notices,” according to the letter.
Spokespeople for Johnson and Jenkins didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Workers and community hurting
The unions have long advocated for cuts to the Oakland Police Department’s budget — which regularly features tens of millions in unbudgeted overtime costs — cutting top administrative positions and more vigorously collecting the city’s business taxes, among other things.
Akilah Lesley, director of West Oakland’s Willie Keyes Recreation Center, said she was laid off as a result of the city’s budget crisis.
“The city does the same thing — they try to balance a budget on the backs of city workers. It hasn’t worked before and it won’t work this time.” Michael Patterson, IBEW Local 1245 electrician
“I’m just here today to, you know, tell city administration to put a stop to all of these layoffs immediately,” Lesley said. “Not only are you hurting the working people such as myself, but you’re also hurting the community, like our families and our children and you’re depriving them of services to help them thrive.”
Electrician Michael Patterson of IBEW Local 1245 said this isn’t the first time the city has tried to fix its budget problems using staff reductions.
“We’ve been here before, crisis after crisis, the same old playbook,” Patterson said. “The city does the same thing — they try to balance a budget on the backs of city workers. It hasn’t worked before and it won’t work this time.”