Dear City of Oakland Co-Worker:

I want to thank everyone who came out to our car caravan around Lake Merritt this past Tuesday. We brought together nearly 100 cars from our members, our community allies, our labor allies like Local 21, and representatives from other 1021 chapters and from our local’s executive board. This show of support was a powerful demonstration that we won’t tolerate cuts to services in this difficult time. To view images from the event, click here to visit Facebook.

We are meeting frequently with our community and labor partners to solve Oakland’s financial problems by modernizing the tax system so that the richest Oakland residents pay their fair share, so the City will stop trying to balance the budget on working people’s backs.

We are also meeting with the City regularly to protect jobs and services. The City has presented their side, and we are reviewing it carefully and preparing a response that will work for us and the people who depend on the work we do. We will need to back up our response with strong shows of unity, so please be sure you’re in consistent communication with your shop stewards and union representatives. If we stick together, we can win.

In solidarity, Felipe Cuevas, SEIU 1021 City of Oakland Chapter President