Union takes protest to streets, draws police attention
Daily Republic
By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | April 22, 2008 17:56
FAIRFIELD - Jefferson Street was a sea of purple Tuesday.
Hundreds of county employees temporarily walked off the job Tuesday afternoon in the latest development in the contract battle between Solano County and a major employee union.
'Our concern is job protection,' complained union co-president Amanda Booker, raising her voice over honking horns, megaphones and police sirens. '(The county's) intention is to have total control over its employees.'
Jefferson Street and several other streets were shut down Tuesday afternoon between the Solano County Government Center and the Jackson Street office of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 2,000 workers.
The march was organized shortly after union members rejected the county's 'last, best and final' contract offer. The bargaining teams are scheduled to meet again May 2.
Organizers said they had 1,100 attendees sign in Tuesday, while authorities unofficially put the crowd at 400 to 500. A heavy police presence followed the march as it moved from the SEIU office to the county building and back.
The show of force was standard practice given the size of the crowd, said Fairfield police spokesman Lt. Al Bagos. Most police forces in the region participated through mutual aid agreements. A total of 60 officers were involved, Bagos said.
Police officials had rejected march organizers' requests to go down the center of Texas Street and said they were concerned the crowd could be unruly about being redirected. Bagos said the procedure in such cases is to plan for the worst-case scenario.
As it turned out, there were no confrontations, violent or otherwise. Police allowed a small group of marchers to use Texas Street, which was eventually closed to traffic.
The bulk of the protesters took Kentucky and Jefferson streets to the county plaza, where residents watched from their front porches and Starbucks employees handed out free samples. An airplane towing a pro-union banner circled overhead, and three union-backed candidates for county supervisor promised to settle a contract if elected.
'You have my support now and you will have it when I am elected to the Board of Supervisors,' candidate Linda Siefert said.
The county and the union remain stuck on issues of disability leave, retiree health coverage and alternative work schedules. The county has offered employees 12 weeks of disability leave, a reduction from the current allowance of nine months.
But county spokesman Steve Pierce called the proposal in line with local cities and private companies, adding that 'the union claim that you get fired after 12 weeks is an emotionally charged misstatement.'