The Board’s $532 Million Public Service Shortfall, Staffing Crisis, and Unlawful Bargaining Practices Drive Workers to Strike on Wednesday, March 5
Bakersfield, CA – On Tuesday, February 25th, Kern County workers represented by Service Employees International Union Local 521 held an informational picket on Truxtun Avenue before their work shift and filled the county chamber room at the County Board of Supervisors one more time ahead of engaging in an Unfair Labor Practice Strike set to begin at midnight on Wednesday, March 5 and ending at 11:59 pm.
Social Workers and Behavioral Health Workers, among others, delivered over a dozen public comments on the community impact when over the most recent three fiscal years reported, the county Board of Supervisors failed to deliver over $532 million of services, undermining our public safety, health, and quality of life. The pattern of higher-than-budgeted revenues but lower-than-promised spending on services continued in the current fiscal year and was reflected in the mid-year status update which was presented at the February 25th Board Meeting. For more key findings and analysis, this white paper is available for download.
Thousands of county workers are expected to strike on March 5th. More news regarding the strike will be released as soon as more information is available.
ONE PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
“I stand before you not as a social worker but as a human being, struggling under a system that is broken. We’re forced to rush investigations and make decisions without fully engaging, to check a box rather than change a life. We need relief, we need manageable caseloads, we need the resources to do our jobs the way they were meant to be done.” – Raquel Heard, Kern County Social Worker and SEIU 521 Member.
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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 Central Coast, and in the 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, leaders, and workers recognize that we are all in this together when it comes to our safety, health, and well-being.
