On Tuesday, April 28 hundreds of SEIU 1021 members joined together outside Alameda County’s main admin building in Oakland to call for a fair contract now.

Members have been at the bargaining table for months, and management has been slow to respond to the repeated, reasonable demands members have made. They’re calling for fair pay; affordable medical care; health and safety protections for all County workers, many of whom have no such protections in their contract; protections against contracting out; and basic union rights, including progressive discipline and due process. They were joined by community allies and other county workers from IFPTE Local 21 and Teamsters 856.

So far, the main substantive proposal from the County has been to increase the employee contribution to healthcare. And, after months of bargaining, members are fed up, saying they’re ready to go on strike if that’s what it takes to get what they need to serve their community.

Speaker after speaker at the rally highlighted the County’s issues with recruitment and retention, working conditions, and basic fairness. Community allies from ACCE and labor allies from IFPTE Local 21 also spoke in support of the 1021 members and the vital work they do.

As Valerie Bachelor of ACCE said, “This is about priorities. Alameda County has a choice: invest in the workforce that makes this county run, or continue down a path that pushes workers out and weakens the services we all rely on. We demand investment in workers NOW! Keep up the fight and we will stand beside you until you get the contract.”

SEIU 1021 Vice President for the East Bay Derrick Boutte said, “We have to come together like this, so we can remind our bosses that every dollar they spend is a choice. And when they’re making those choices, they need to remember that people—people like you, me, and the people who rely on our services—are more important than dollars.”

Other speakers included Rebecca Richardson, county assessor; Kristen McCannon, public defender and IFPTE 21 member; Stacy Thompson, county counsel’s office; Cynthia Landry, social worker; Kim Blakiston, public health nurse; and William Wells, eligibility technician.

When they were done firing up the crowd, the county building rang with chants of “fair contract NOW! Fair contract NOW!”