Alameda County workers have been at the bargaining table with management since October of 2025. Management continues to work slowly and ignore the concerns workers have been consistent in voicing. Currently, management is trying to increase employee contributions to healthcare, which would push workers farther behind the rising costs of living. To fight back against this, workers mounted a County-wide day of action, purpling up at worksites across the region, speaking at a closed session of the Board of Supervisors, and tabling outside the County admin building all day, with a massive noontime rally.

Stacy Thompson is a twenty-year Alameda County employee, who has been with the office of the County Counsel for fifteen years now. At the rally, she asked te crowd of hundreds, “We have been fighting this fight for more than eleven months, and are tired of the games management continues to play. How can we say we’re a county that stands together while your workers continue to suffer and fall behind?”

Kathy Rieves is a long-time worker in the county’s Public Defender office. She told the crowd, “I had a stroke three years ago. The one thing I said was ‘I have to get back to work.’ I came back to work. I didn’t come back here to play. I want everybody, and I mean everybody, to take a handful of our fliers and pass them out. If you want a fair contract, SEIU, you gotta stand up and fight!”

Behavioral Healthcare Services President Ray Carlson framed the healthcare fight by saying, “The County’s proposed plan essentially punishes people for having families under our healthcare policy,” and urged the workers across the county “The County needs to hear what we’re asking for, and for them to hear, we need you to raise your voices today. Grab a sign, wear your purple, and show your support. With your support, we can win.”

The team is at the table with management all day today, and will be back at it on Thursday. If you live in Alameda County, please call your Supervisor and tell them “It’s time for a fair contract NOW!”