A sea of bright yellow jackets swarmed the council chambers in Sebastopol last Tuesday, Dec. 17. Public works crews came to share their concerns over missed opportunities during contract bargaining for the City to make things right regarding promotional opportunities and filling vacant positions. 

Kevin Mulligan, a maintenance worker with the public works department and member of SEIU Local 1021, took to the podium to deliver the important message. 

“We feel like our employees are being denied an opportunity for upward mobility at the same time that they’re being asked to do more with less,” said Mulligan. “The city has not hesitated to give substantial pay raises to upper management, while lower level employees keep waiting for the ever-elusive promise of future funding.”

The group says they rarely have even gotten any internal promotions. But when someone above them leaves, the agency instead hires a new person from the outside—eliminating their opportunity to move up. 

They’re also looking to expand who is able to be called into work to fill in when a colleague calls out. Currently, maintenance is overwhelmed on their days off when they alone are tapped in to do that job.

Members with Sebastopol Public Works also demand competitive starting wages for laborers. The council was moved by the display of support for the cause and requested they be sent a thorough letter of their concerns to give it a more thoughtful review.