Details of the ULP Strike are Forthcoming
Click here to watch Tuesday, January 18 virtual press conference
Santa Cruz, CA – During a virtual press conference on Tuesday, January 18, Santa Cruz County workers represented by SEIU 521 announced its members overwhelmingly rejected the County’s Last, Best, and Final Offer (LBFO). As a result SEIU 521 Chapter President Veronica Velasquez, joined by fellow County workers from Social Services and Public Health, announced the official Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike start date of Tuesday, January 25, 2022.
“Workers made clear from the resounding rejection of the County’s LBFO that we will not accept any agreement that does not sufficiently invest in community services during a public health crisis, ” said Veronica Velazquez, Social Worker and SEIU 521 Santa Cruz County Chapter President. “The County is forcing county workers to strike over Unfair Labor Practices; we have made our willingness clear to management that we are ready to continue negotiating to reach a fair and just deal that addresses the challenges facing county workers.”
Details of the strike locations will be shared publicly in the coming days.
“As professionals, we are committed to keeping our residents safe and protected from infectious diseases like COVID-19, but also from the County Board’s unwillingness to hear workers and fix their broken funding and hiring systems. We have no choice, but to go on strike to protect our community recovery. Our Santa Cruz community deserves better.”
-Amy Meza, Public Health Nurse III
“We desperately need more resources to combat the Omicron surge, let alone keep frontline workers from running for the door. With the lack of public investment our community needlessly suffers. Meanwhile, the top County executive Carlos Palacios is being paid more than four times the median salary of a County employee ($313,569.86 in 2020). There is no doubt the Supervisors’ priorities are upside down.”
-Katie Williams, Public Health Nurse II
Background:
The union contract (MOU – Memorandum Of Understanding) between Santa Cruz County and SEIU 521 expired in September 2021, and SEIU 521 members approved a strike authorization on December 7, 2021, with 93% of members voting in favor. Workers cite the Board’s failure in combating the COVID-19 health crisis and addressing overwhelmed public services as their breaking point. The job vacancy rate is hovering around 20%, which reflects the County’s failure to recruit and retain experienced workers by providing a living wage. An alarming 87% of turnover involves workers leaving their jobs voluntarily (only a small fraction are retiring), indicating understaffing, the variant surge, and insufficient county investment are all factors in pushing workers to leave their positions in droves. While County coffers are ballooning with more than $53 million in reserves, and $14.3 million more in the general fund than projected, the Board refuses to address long-term community health and social issues:
- The County continues to divert money away from its clinics ($4 million), peeling away access to health services during a pandemic. [1]
- In areas like adult protective services, Medi-Cal provision, and sanitation maintenance the need for services has increased tremendously in recent years (often doubling or tripling), but the county has been unwilling to provide the resources needed to meet this demand.[2]
- Santa Cruz County’s poverty rate is 17% higher than the state average.[3]
- The number of seniors (65+) in poverty increased over the last decade. [4]
- The County retains an alarmingly high rate of student homelessness (nearly double the statewide average). [5]
- 47% of families with children earn too little to meet basic needs. [6]
- “[W]e have controlled employee growth […] Our staffing levels today in 2021 are still less than staff levels in 2008, before the Great Recession.” – County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios [7]
Sources
[1] Proposed_Budget_2021-2022.pdf (santa-cruz.ca.us), pg. 169
[2] CAFR, Pg. 206
[3] https://www.ppic.org/publication/poverty-in-california/
[4] Some nursing home residents will ring in 2022 with a rent increase – Santa Cruz Sentinel
[5] https://kidsdata.org/topic/230/homeless-students/Bar#fmt=356&loc=370,2&tf=108&sort=loc
[6] https://www.kidsdata.org/topic/702/families-below-sss/Bar#fmt=998&loc=370,2&tf=88&sort=loc
[7] Budget Overview FY 2021-22, Carlos J. Palacios, County Administrative Officer, June 21, 2021
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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.
