City Workers Deliver 75 Foot Long Petition with Over 2,000 Signatures to City Council Telling them to Staff Up San Jose!

On Tuesday, April 25th, a couple of hundred members of MEF Local 101, Local 21, and ABMEI met outside of City Hall and marched into City Council chambers together. Their plan was simple, deliver a petition over 75 feet long that contained the names and signatures of over 2,000 City workers!

The petition had a straightforward message.

We, the undersigned, are city employees who take pride in serving this community. We believe San Jose residents deserve high-quality, timely city services. We cannot do this with over 900 unfilled vacancies and compensation considerably below other cities in the region. Service shortcomings are not just in public safety or permitting– they are across the board. Addressing high vacancy and turnover rates is going to require substantial investment in city employees. We need to do more to hire, but we also need to hire talented public servants. Investing in our public services means investing in our future. Without city workers, San Jose cannot function.

It’s time for city leaders and the new administration to invest in our future and Staff Up San Jose!

Unfortunately, an issue already on the City Council agenda prohibited members from addressing the Council during public comment. However, we were able to unfurl the 75-foot petition scroll, which took up the entire length of the council chambers.

The following day, members delivered the scroll directly to Mayor Matt Mahan’s office and sent official copies to Council members in the other ten districts.

One thing is clear; the City knows that we aren’t going to go quietly. They know that we are committed to solving the staffing crisis and getting back to delivering quality public services. And they are starting to see we’ll do what it takes to achieve that end.