BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — SEIU Local 521 members plan a one-day strike to protest unfair labor practices and chronic underfunding of public services in Kern County.
- SEIU Local 521 claims chronic short-staffing and uncompetitive wages are harming public services.
- Over $850 million in budgeted funds have allegedly been diverted by the County Board of Supervisors.
- Workers express frustration over unmanageable caseloads and the struggle to meet basic living costs.
- The county acknowledges that a strike will impact services, but future negotiations remain uncertain.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
SEIU county workers to strike for one day. Alicia Aleman, Kern County social worker and chapter president of SEIU, said, "We don't want to strike but the Kern County Board of Supervisors left us no choice."
That's Alicia Aleman, a Kern County social worker and chapter president of SEIU Local 521, known as the Service Employees International Union.
SEIU Local 521 represents around 5 thousand members. Workers will go on a one day strike on March 5th to protest what they say are unfair labor practices by the county and inaction by the county board of supervisors.
Aleman said, "Staffing is dangerously low, wages are noncompetitive and caseloads are unmanageable."
SEIU claims that over the last three years, the Board of Supervisors has failed to use over $532 million in budgeted dollars for county services and has diverted funds now totaling over $850 million into restricted funds.
The union claims that those funds include hundreds of millions that have been allocated by the State specifically for services such as mental health and public safety.
Human Services Technician Lydia Gonzales has been with the county for 13 years. She says that nowadays, there's just not enough staff to serve the public. She was among the union members who voted for the one-day labor strike.
She stated, "There's not enough staff. There's retention issues, people leave and they don't bring new people in so people are waiting months and months to get their benefits."
SEIU said some county employees must work two jobs to make ends meet. But when we asked Aleman how much of a raise the union was asking, she declined to give us a specific figure.
In an email response, County spokesperson Stacy Kuwhahara wrote, "A strike will certainly impact County services, with the impact ranging from the closure of some County offices to delays in some County services."
After the one-day strike, it is still unknown if both sides may go back to the bargaining table to negotiate a contract.
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