OAKLAND — The city worker strike — in its fourth day with no signs of stopping — reached a milestone Friday afternoon when the city alerted the main union that it declared an impasse, asking the negotiating team to join them in mediation.
“Despite months of hard work in bargaining, the parties remain far apart on the issue of wages and other terms of employment,” City Administrator Sabrina Landreth wrote in a letter to SEIU Local 1021 chief negotiator Robert Szykwony obtained by this news agency. “Given this persistent gulf between the parties, it is apparent that the parties are at impasse and the City believes it is appropriate to continue the bargaining process through procedures designed to resolve impasses.”
The impasse declaration came after the city’s last and best offer Thursday afternoon of a 4 percent raise the first year of a contract, another 1 percent raise guaranteed the second year, along with a 1 percent raise contingent upon hitting revenue milestones.
The union’s bargaining team turned down that offer and countered with their proposal of a 4 percent raise in both years of the contract. At a news conference in the city’s emergency operations command center, Mayor Libby Schaaf said the city could not afford that deal.
“We cannot compromise our fiscal stability,” Schaaf told reporters. “For too long we’ve wracked up negative fund balances we’ve worked so hard over these last few years to bring down. We’ve been able to restore our credit rating.”
The union now has a choice: Join the city for mediation or request a fact-finding process, which can take months to complete. The union has the legal right to strike during either of these procedures. Schaaf said preparations are being made in the event of a long-term work stoppage.
SEIU said they would respond to the impasse declaration by 3:30 p.m. Friday.
Union members began gathering at near City Hall, the police department and the city library shortly before 8 a.m. Friday. By lunch, the unions began marching and chanting in the street surrounding city hall: “Rise up, shut it down, Oakland is a union town!”
The labor unions, SEIU Local 1021 and IFPTE Local 21, announced Thursday afternoon they would stay off the job for another day after turning down a new offer by the city. The unions had reviewed the revised offer from City Council, but said it was not made in good faith so they refused to call of the strike and return to the bargaining table.
On Friday, the mayor called the city’s offer the “last, best and completely final offer.”
The proposal also includes allocation of $500,000 to convert part-time library employees to civil staff positions, as well as three seats on the city’s safe streets and clean neighborhoods committee to “assist in addressing illegal dumping.” The mayor stressed that some of the city’s lowest paid employees would see even higher raises.
If the union rejects that offer, the city says it will declare impasse and ask representatives to agree to formal mediation with the State Mediation and Conciliation Service.
About 3,000 city workers represented by two unions have been on strike since Tuesday, and another 1,000 workers represented by the IBEW have honored the picket lines. The union contracts expired in July.
Check back for updates.