SEIU 1021 members fight for justice and safety
In recent weeks and months, Northern California has gotten hammered by a series of powerful storms. During and after these storms, SEIU 1021 members put themselves on the line to ensure that the public stays safe. Recently, Oakland publication Oaklandside spoke with longtime City of Oakland street maintenance worker Dwight McElroy about the importance of this work and the way it gets done.
Dwight pointed out that potholes are made much, much worse by storms like the ones we just endured, but in storm conditions, potholes are the second priority, because City workers are busy making sure streets are clear for emergency vehicles and first responders. Specifically, he said, “Alvarado Street and Gypsy Lane, Ascot Street and Chelton Drive, those are major points of entrance and departures from highly populated areas that need to be responded to based on our need to keep emergency vehicles available for our citizens.”
He also argued that, as climate change makes these storms worse and more frequent, that work like this must be prioritized with SEIU 1021’s commitments to environmental and racial justice in mind. This is because our union fights for economic justice for its workers and the communities they serve, and achieving economic justice isn’t possible without addressing the environmental and racial injustices that those workers and their communities have historically endured. As he said, pointing at the City’s attention to mudslides in the prosperous Oakland hills at the expense of repeated flooding in the working-class flatlands, “You’ve got social and economic issues without attention below MacArthur Boulevard, where there are flooding conditions occurring every goddamn year,” he said. “We are rushing our ass up to Montclair to fix roads there [which is needed], but how are you gonna end up with these conditions in San Leandro Boulevard and below East 14th, every year?”
As our climate continues to change, the need for the work provided by SEIU 1021 members will only increase. It will be important for all of us to make sure that that work is done equitably.