90% of surveyed Kern County employees reported that vacancies and workloads should be a top issue for SEIU 521 bargaining unit positions across Kern County.
Bakersfield, Calif. – On an early balmy Tuesday morning, over 200 Kern County workers represented by Service Employees International Union, Local 521 (SEIU) protested what they are calling a county-wide staffing crisis with an informational picket line before their work shift outside the County Administrative Building on Truxtun Avenue.
SEIU 521 represents over 5,500 essential county workers across departments like Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Human Services, and the Sherrif-Coroner Department among others. County workers voiced their concerns about the staffing crisis that is preventing them from adequately providing care and service to those who suffer from substance abuse, homelessness, and other family crises.
After the sidewalk protest, nearly a dozen workers delivered public comments at the 9:00 am Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting as the board prepared to vote on a preliminary recommended FY 2024-2025 budget.
The county isn’t expressing that it cannot offer livable wages or improve working conditions because it is in financial constraints. On the contrary, according to the Kern County Annual Comprehensive Financial Report FY ending in June 2023, the County’s financial net position has doubled over four years to net 2 billion dollars (page 172). Meanwhile, the county Human Resources notified the union on April 5th that they stopped tracking departure and vacancy data.
REMARKS FROM TODAYS PUBLIC COMMENT:
“Every day, we strive to keep our streets and neighborhoods safe, but this is a battle we cannot win if we continue to lose employees at this rate. The impact of this on the public, our taxpayers, and our clients will be severe if we can no longer effectively perform our duties.” – Socorro Velandria, SEIU 521 Member and Office Service Technician in Kern County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Department
“I worry about how badly [the staffing crisis] interrupts the continuity of care for our clients. But staffing turnover is a big problem because wage stagnation and case overload forces too many of us to take positions elsewhere, finding reasonable workloads and a better ability to keep up with the cost of inflation.” – Tina Croxton, SEIU 521 Member and Registered Nurse in Kern County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Department
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Service Employees International Union, Local 521 represents 53,000+ public- and nonprofit, private-sector workers in California’s Bay Area, the Coast, and Central Valley. Under a Community First vision, we are committed to making sure the needs of our community, and the vital services we provide our community, come first. We believe our communities thrive when residents, elected leaders, and workers recognize that we are all in this together when it comes to our safety, health, and well-being.
