Strike Authorization Voting Began by Thousands of City of San Jose Workers Today

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Aug 01, 2023, 20:23 ET

Thousands of San Jose city workers began voting today to approve a potential strike amidst ongoing short-staffing crisis across City of San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, unions representing 4,500 San Jose city employees began conducting in-person voting to authorize a strike for up to three days. Voting yes will allow the leadership of IFPTE Local 21 and MEF-AFSCME Local 101 to call a citywide strike should City Administrators fail to address the recruitment and retention crisis impacting city libraries, the airport, affordable housing, emergency response times, and more.

San Jose city worker submits a ballot in the union strike authorization vote outside City Hall.

The elected bargaining teams of IFPTE Local 21 and MEF-AFSCME Local 101 are unanimously recommending that members vote yes to authorize a strike. Voting is being held in-person at City worksites until Friday, August 4th. Results will be announced in front of City Hall on Monday, August 7, at 8:30am.

"I'm voting 'Yes' to strike because I care deeply about my San Jose community. The recruitment and retention issues cannot be ignored any longer. We know that the City has the resources to do better for residents," said John Tran, Airport Operations Supervisor at San Jose Mineta International Airport, and IFPTE Local 21 member.

Voting is taking place today for IFPTE Local 21 and MEF-AFSCME Local 101 members at the San Jose Regional Wastewater Facility, Animal Care Shelter, Central Service Yard, City Hall, Libraries, Airport, and other locations. The full voting schedule is available at www.staffupsanjose.org/strikevote.

A recently published report by Working Partnerships USA shows that the City is more than capable of affording competitive wage increases for City employees. According to the special report, the City of San Jose has a long history of budget surpluses driven by general fund expenditure savings, and accurate accounting could create $13-$28 million in additional budget savings in the 2023-2024 adopted budget to be reinvested in making the city's wages more competitive.

Contracts representing 4,500 city workers expired on June 30 after both unions' bargaining teams spent months negotiating with the City. Workers are calling for an agreement that will restore the City of San Jose as a competitive employer of choice and alleviate the urgent staffing crisis that undermines the delivery of high-quality public services to residents.

BACKGROUND: For more information, visit www.StaffUpSanJose.org.

SOURCE IFPTE Local 21