City workers spent their lunch hour picketing the 36 possible
layoffs in front of City Hall on Tuesday.
About 40 workers, some being laid off and others whose positions
are not in jeopardy, held signs and shouted sentiments in the hopes
of getting attention from City Council members and officials, as
well as community members, in the wake of looming cuts.
City workers spent their lunch hour picketing the 36 possible layoffs in front of City Hall on Tuesday.
About 40 workers, some being laid off and others whose positions are not in jeopardy, held signs and shouted sentiments in the hopes of getting attention from City Council members and officials, as well as community members, in the wake of looming cuts.
Much of the workers’ dissent was directed at City Manager Dale Shaddox, who they hope will sit down with labor representatives and other city leaders to discuss the cuts in greater detail before the actual cuts are made, said maintenance worker Ray Perez.
“We’re out here trying to get the city manager to at least listen to us, and take some of our suggestions,” Perez said. “The City Council asked him at the last meeting if he used up all his resources and he said yes, but he hasn’t. He hasn’t even talked to the union.”
Perez, who has worked for the city for the past eight years, is not in danger of losing his job, but he spent his own time on his lunch hour to support and defend the people who are, he said.
The way it’s being handled and the considerable amount of people facing layoffs has caused a severe lack of distrust within the city-employee community, Perez said.
“We asked one of our higher-ups if this is the only layoffs, and he said ‘I don’t know,'” Perez said. “Even though I’m not getting it right now, we never know. And then the poor people that are – where are they going to be?”
First and foremost, the picketers were trying to send a message to the City Council and city manager that the workers and union representatives want a chance to meet and confer before the cuts are decided upon, said Service Employees International Union (SEIU) head John Vellardita.
The second reason was to illustrate to the community the desperate situation these cuts will put residents in on account of reduced services, he said.
“The community needs to speak up and get ahold of their designated City Council member and ask them what services they’re planning on cutting,” Vellardita said. “Only then can the community get a sense of what the layoffs mean to their lives.”
With a slated 22-percent reduction in city employees, it will mean a severe decline in public services, including safety response time and development, which will impact the future of all residents, he said.
“The workers are not giving up,” Vellardita said. “They are bound and determined to have some input. They served the city well and they feel they are being slighted.”
A meeting including Shaddox, city council members, union representatives and city workers to discuss options such as early retirement, reduced hours and furlough programs need to take place before premature cuts are made, said SEIU President Luis Aguilar.
Aguilar, who is also an assistant city engineer, picketed with the workers to defend their plight.
With the city’s lack in funds, cuts are inevitable, but so many being cut at one time is not necessary. Because an operational plan for how the city will function after all the cuts are made has not been drawn up yet, a meeting to discuss such a plan is paramount before any action is taken, he said.
“They’re saying meet and confer after the implementation, but we want it prior to the implementation in reduction of force,” Aguilar said. “There’s more out there we can do to help the city with the (finance) problem, but the problem right now is that they don’t want to meet.”
David Tietz, a building inspector whose job could be cut, picketed in the hopes that at least some people’s jobs could be saved if the city takes time to explore other options, he said.
After more than six years of dedicated service, he understands that the harsh reality of the city’s fiscal upheaval will result in lost jobs, but he can’t understand how the people left behind are expected to function at the same level of performance with so many vacancies, he said.
The building department is one of the hardest hit, with four out of the six positions in jeopardy.
“I don’t know how they’ll ever run the building department with only two people,” Tietz said. “It won’t work.”
Whether all 36 positions are cut or not, the workers’ picketing will hopefully convey to the public how necessary community involvement is in this situation, said Tony Lee, a picketer who works as a water treatment operator.
Like Perez, Lee’s position is not being cut, but many employees who he depends on in the course of his job are, which in turn will make his duties more difficult to perform, he said.
“I’ve never (picketed) before, so I don’t know what it’s going to do,” Lee said. “But hopefully it will make (the city) see that these people – maybe you can trim a few – but 36 positions is going to impact services big time… It’s totally wrong.”
