Dear Co-Workers:

We are actively negotiating on your behalf as your elected Bargaining Team. We held a very telling session with the City last week.

Currently, we have reached 6 tentative agreements (these will be voted on by all full members in order to become final) with the City. There have been more than 30 proposals shared at the table.

Our proposals are looking at creating a comprehensive and diverse contract that speaks to ALL members. Our priorities have been set by the membership to focus on improvements to healthcare, wages and on the job rights and benefits.

The City of Hayward SEIU 1021 Negotiations Team has presented a wage proposal that attempts to make us whole from a decade of insufficient wage increases that has left us 19.6% behind CPI.  (Consumer Price Index data that measures the cost of living). In response we were presented with a poor counter proposal of a 4% wage increase over the three years of our contract! This actually includes a 1% payment we are being asked to make to supplement our own retiree medical benefits. We know the City of Hayward can do better!

• While the City has proposed this poor wage proposal, they have received $38 million in recovery funds from the Federal Government to off-set Covid-19 related expenditures and losses
• The City presented an irrational budget projection that showed them spending down the General Fund reserves to an ultimate depletion in five years. It showed the city spending $6- $11 million per year in reserves to balance the budget.
• In addition to being unrealistic, this would not be a way the City has ever used reserve funds
• We constantly see additional Director positions being hired and allocated to the City Management offices while we are understaffed and being presented wage proposals that leave us more than 20% behind the regional CPI rates

Although we have dreams of making Hayward the destination city for employment in the Bay Area, the City’s wage proposal will not get us there. The City has to agree to spend the resources necessary to make these improvements: This means that we need to show our power and unity.

Together We Can Win!

In the past, the City has imposed regressive contract terms. We must stand Stronger Together to win. As we work to get the City to agree to our proposals to uplift City workers, we will need to do actions to show power.

All City workers should:

• Show up to the City Council Zoom on the dates set by the CAT Team
• Wear your SEIU purple shirts/stickers/hats/ vests, and if you are working from home, make your TEAMS and ZOOM screens the City of Hayward SEIU Chapter background (available at: https://www.seiu1021.org/post/together-we-can-win).
• Holding Unity Breaks together at 10:21 a.m. to show your support for SEIU 1021
• The CAT Team will be doing the planning and strategy of our next actions to take to support a fair contract for Hayward workers

Our next scheduled session with the City will be on Wednesday June 30th.

As a show of Unity, wear something PURPLE!

Stronger Together,
City of Hayward – Bargaining Team:Robert Mitchell
Suzanne Philis
Rosy Torres
Timothy Sira
Paul Rojas
Armando Quintero
Jennifer McAdams
Gil Hesia
Salvador Sanchez
Jamie Martin
Ed Lopez
Heather Costa
Jeffrey Bashir

City of Hayward
Chapter Action Team
(aka “CAT Team”)

We are hoping for more participants in our “Action Team” to discuss more next steps to support our negotiations.  Please contact Laura Gomez (Chief Steward – Clerical) and Teresa Tubbs (Secretary – Maintenance), to join us. Thank you to all who have stepped up to be a part of the CAT already!
Laura Gomez 
Teresa Tubbs