Tuesday, September 2, the SEIU 1021 members who keep Novato running — including street maintenance workers, building inspectors, park recreation coordinators, and city planners — held an unfair labor practice strike to sound the alarm on Novato City Council’s refusal to consider the needs of its lowest-paid workers whose services residents depend on.  

This marked Novato workers’ second unfair labor practice strike in a month. From August 5 to 7, Novato’s proud public servants walked off the job after 98% of the bargaining unit voted to authorize a strike — the first such strike in recent memory.

Novato’s service workers are the lowest paid in the region compared to employees in similar cities. For example, street maintenance workers earn 10.65% below the median wage, making it harder for Novato to recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver essential public services — from pothole repairs and flood prevention to safe traffic management. 

The SEIU 1021 bargaining team has offered a proposal to bring them up to pay equity with surrounding cities — and it wouldn’t even cost the city more than what they are currently offering. Yet City Council refuses to even put it on the agenda, in blatant disrespect to its lowest-paid workers trying to get by in one of the most unequal counties in the U.S. 

Making matters worse, the City has also slashed staffing levels. In 2006, the street maintenance division had 14 workers. Today, it has just seven.  

“We don’t want to go on strike, but the City has left us no other choice,” said Paul Perryman, a senior maintenance worker with the City of Novato. “Our coworkers keep leaving because of the City’s seeming commitment to deepening inequality. We want fairness so that we can continue to provide Novato residents with safe streets and a clean community.” 

It is no surprise: Novato’s service workers are the lowest paid in the region, and they are also the most diverse. About half of Novato’s public works maintenance department are people of color. Yet the City’s practices continue to reinforce inequality. According to Race Counts, per capita income in Marin County is: 

• White residents: $103,530; 
• Latinx residents: $36,962; 
• Black residents: $36,215. 

While Novato City Council publicly claims to support racial justice, its actions — underpaying, understaffing, and destabilizing a diverse workforce — tell a different story. 

Read more from the Marin Independent Journal here.