Bargaining Update - April 12
Your MEF – AFSCME Local 101 Bargaining Team met again with City leadership today and made additional proposals to address the City's vacancies problem and lack of ability to recruit and retain staff. Today, our proposals focused on recruitment, and we made the following proposals.
Update how the City compares our wages with other Bay Area agencies. The City currently compares with Cities and Counties that we simply aren't competing within the labor market. The City uses the information to keep San Jose workers' pay lower than it should be by hiding behind "market data and averages." The fact is, San Jose workers are drastically underpaid when compared with our neighboring public agencies. We must fix that!
Attract new professionals by increasing the amount of Paid Family Leave from just one week to EIGHT weeks to reflect the real needs of families. San Jose can only compete with other public agencies and private employers in Silicon Valley by offering more than one week of paid family leave. It's archaic, wrong, and must be changed.
Attract new professionals and retain current staff by having the City provide $5,000 for childcare and early education costs. Childcare in the bay area has become prohibitively expensive, and our employer needs to keep up with the times and needs of so many of our employees. Providing funds specifically for childcare will help with that.
You can view all the proposals the Union has made to date by going here and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
Next week, your MEF bargaining team will focus on the main economic items, such as retention/longevity pay for employees who have been around a while and special pay increases for classifications who are grossly behind the market or who are chronic "hard-to-fill" classifications. Of course, we will also be making our proposal for a significant general wage increase.
We must achieve all of these goals to Staff Up San Jose, return San Jose to being a good employer, and get back to providing quality public services that our residents deserve.
Make no mistake, though; it will take you and your coworkers standing together to win this fight. Here's what we all need to do for next steps:
Event: Join the bargaining teams from all three Unions next Wednesday, April 19th, at 6:30 on Zoom at the following link https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89664040218?pwd=N0g2UWM4VmI4NWpMdFJuVG1xRU5SZz09 .
There, you'll be able to hear about what's next for the Staff up San Jose Campaign, let your bargaining team hear from you directly, and weigh in on our upcoming economic wage proposals and more.
Action: Tuesday, April 25th from 5:00 - 6:30 pm, Staff Up San Jose Rally at City Hall!!! Come, stand with your coworkers, and be counted! We are going to make sure the City Council sees us and that they understand we are committed to making sure San Jose works. We'll also be holding a drawing and handing out excellent door prizes like Airpod Pros and Ipads for members who attend. Don't miss it! We have to stand together, and when we fight - we win! Wear your teal shirts, or come get one!
Your MEF Bargaining Team,
Also - Last call to fill out the staff Up San Jose Petition! https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/staff-up-san-jose#
