Oakland Reaches Tentative Agreement With Its Largest Employee Union
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- City of Oakland officials said Friday that they've reached a tentative agreement on a two-year contract with the largest city employee union.
The city said that under the proposed contract, members of Services Employees International Union Local 1021 will receive a 4 percent pay increase retroactive to July 1, 2017, a 1 percent increase in January 2019 and an additional 1 percent increase next year depending on city revenues.
Local 1021 represents more than 2,000 public works employees, parking enforcement officers, Head Start instructors, and early education teachers.
The city said the union's members will vote on the deal next week and if they approve it the agreement will be presented to the City Council for final ratification.
The city said the same wage proposal has already been ratified by the other three civilian employee labor groups: the Local 21 of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 1245 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Confidential Management Employees Association.
IFPTE Local 21 represents about 1,000 professional and technical employees, including engineers, building inspectors and planners, while about 20 city employees belong to IBEW Local 1245.
The city said that if SEIU Local 1021 members ratify the agreement the city will have two-year contracts in place with all four of its civilian labor groups.
However, city officials said negotiations with Local 55 of the International Association of Fire Fighters are still ongoing.
In early December, about 3,000 city workers, mostly members of SEIU Local 1021 and IFPTE Local 21, took part in a weeklong strike which shutdown most city services.
The strike ended after a mediator was brought in to help stalled negotiations between the unions and the city.
Employees went on strike Friday to protest what they said were unfair labor practices and the city's use of part-time workers, staffing levels, cost of living concerns and workplace conditions.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf alleged that the strike was unlawful.
SEIU Local 1021 spokesman Chris Flink confirmed that the union has reached a tentative agreement with the city and its members will vote on it next week. Flink said the union will issue a statement on the agreement later Friday.
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