We Have to Stand Together to Tell the Mayor:
Put People Before Profits!

 Dear City of Oakland Co-Worker:

Just this morning, Mayor Libby Schaaf said on KTVU Channel 2 that she stood for “people before profits.” This is just not true, as our temporary, part-time co-workers who were just issued layoff notices can prove.

We need to hold the Mayor and the City administrators to their words. That’s why I’m asking all of you to join me at Lake Merritt on Tuesday, May 26, for a car caravan around the lake. We must show the Mayor that these extraordinary times have not divided us or made us weaker. 

Layoffs and cuts to City services should be the last resort, not the first tool management reaches for. If you agree, join us, starting in the parking lot at 207 E 18th St., where you can come get a sign for your car.

We want to be visible, so we will have signs for your back side windows, or you can use a purple shirt. We will be observing all social distancing guidelines. 

Mayor Schaaf has asked us to sit down with her and City administration to address the budget shortfalls caused by the pandemic. We are working to schedule these meetings and we are doing our due diligence so that we are fully prepared to make our case that service cuts and layoffs must be the last option.

A few other updates and pieces of important information:

1. The City has the obligation to meet and confer with us about any changes to our working conditions, even during the pandemic. This is part of our contract, and all of us need to understand this fact. If you feel the City is trying to impose changes, talk to your union representative or shop steward.
2. All the changes that have been made as a response to the pandemic are temporary. Once the pandemic is over, those changes should be rolled back and conditions should revert to what they were before the shelter in place order was announced.
3. If you have received a work assignment, but have been unable to work, you should contact your City Single Point of Contact and use the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) benefits.
4. Since we can not safely run an election at this time, the local has made the decision to put all elections, including chapter elections, on hold until such time as we can hold them without risk of infection.
5. We are scheduling Zoom calls across our chapter, on a department-by-department basis. To find out more, contact your union representative Julio Corral (Julio.Corral@seiu1021.org) or Karen Williams (Karen.Williams@seiu1021.org), or reach out to me: Felipe.Cuevas@seiu1021.org or call the local’s Member Resource Center at 1-877-OUR-1021 (877-687-1021).

Finally, I would like to say that we have been through hard times before, and we will make it through these times as well, as long as we stay strong and stand together.

In solidarity, 
Felipe Cuevas, Chapter President