After our massive rally on Lincoln’s Birthday, the County has improved their proposals on a number of issues, including wages, bilingual pay, and shift differentials. 

However, they still want to raise healthcare costs, and their wage proposals still leave Alameda County wages behind other comparable jurisdictions, which will mean our recruitment and retention problems will continue. Plus, even after seeing hundreds of people rally, they still want to eliminate Lincoln’s birthday as a holiday!

It’s time to go straight to the top: The Board of Supervisors needs to hear from us NOW!

March on the Board
March 14
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 
1221 Oak St.

RSVP: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/alacoboardmarch or scan the QR code.

Missed our rally recap? Check it out:
https://www.seiu1021.org/article/hundreds-alameda-county-workers-and-community-members-picket-say-staff-now!

As SF Gate reported: 

Hundreds of Alameda County workers picketed Monday at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater in Oakland to demand that county officials fill thousands of vacant county jobs.

The vacancies mean residents are not getting the services that a fully staffed county can deliver, according to the Service Employees International Union Local 1021.

Workers too are suffering from burnout.

“We are working understaffed,” said Tina Tapia, an administrative assistant in the public health department. “We are doing the job of two to three people. You don’t have time to take your break.”

“Our community has suffered enough,” a letter from the workers to county administrators said. “Alameda County’s workforce has struggled enough: for months at the bargaining table, and for years in their workplaces they have attempted to make clear the scope and severity of this understaffing crisis.”

The letter read, in full:

February 13, 2023 

Alameda County Board of Supervisors 

1221 Oak St, Suite 536 

Oakland, CA 94612 

Dear Board of Supervisors: 

For years, Alameda County has had a large number of vacant positions. In June of 2020, there were more than 1,500 empty Full-Time Equivalencies (FTEs), and the problem has only gotten worse: as of August, 2022 there were 2,332 vacant FTEs, and a total 2,611 empty positions across the county—nearly a quarter of the County’s entire head count. 

Every vacant position represents work not being done for County residents. 

The work County workers do for our community is vital and irreplaceable, and we have all seen the tragic cost of this understaffing crisis.  

The community members and County workers who have signed this letter are unanimous in calling on the County Board of Supervisors to listen to the community, address their needs, and solve this staffing crisis. We simply can not afford to let our community and our workforce suffer with nearly one in every four seats unfilled, the work delayed, undone, or spilling over onto other staffers’ caseloads. 

The numbers are stark: 40 registered nurses not providing healthcare; 239 social workers not improving lives and helping the most vulnerable among us; 148 eligibility techs not helping connect people with the services they need. 

Our community has suffered enough. Alameda County’s workforce has struggled enough: for months at the bargaining table, and for years in their workplaces they have attempted to make clear the scope and severity of this understaffing crisis. Enough is enough. The Board of Supervisors must solve this problem. It’s time to Staff Up Alameda County! 

Sincerely, the Undersigned Alameda County Workers and Community Members