Why I Didn't Strike On March 14th 2006

My concerns go beyond the logic behind a one-day strike. I’m more troubled with how the union managed events during the months after our contract expired and I hesitate facing a community that has already shown declining support for county and city employees. I believe the majority of members are dissatisfied with the union’s performance. I also believe we are missing our opportunity to change how the public perceives us.

One thing should be made clear, I have always supported the union in the past. I was in support of the strikes during our last contract negotiations. I also was the only SEIU member to walk with several hundred UCSC students marching from the U.C. campus to downtown Santa Cruz in support of the 40-day bus strike. Even though the march was held after 5pm on a weekday, not a single member of our union was there other than me.

The decision to fire Cliff Tillman without due process or giving the former Executive Director any opportunity to resign is ludicrous. For the union members to discover the news from the morning paper and local radio broadcast is absurd. From what I understand, the steps taken to purge Mr. Tillman from the union were illegal and local journalists have hinted on investigating the process.

The vote for the strike is also a point of discomfort with me. How can we justify a strike when only 42.5 percent of the county employees voted to reject the contract and walk? Only 900 employees showed to vote. The sense in having a union is moot if the 900 non-voters aren’t heard. As a union, we need to do whatever it takes to get the vote. During the union elections there were several locations to vote at and several weeks to get to those numerous voting stations. Why should the vote that effects several years of our pay be decided at one location in North county and be give 4.5 hours to do so? Many times our labor movement has stumbled and bruised itself. Our weakness is evident in the number of members coming out to vote. Our union claims that the deck is always stacked against them, the truth is, our present union is it’s worst enemy. Receiving tens of thousands of dollars every month from our pockets and not giving us the proper venue and timeframe to vote is shameful.

I’m not comfortable with our inconsistent system of voting.

I always understood that the labor movement was the refuge for the neglected, the downtrodden and the poor. I am not neglected, downtrodden or poor; I don’t believe that any county worker is. Living paycheck-to-paycheck and making ends meet is how capitalism functions for the majority of American households. The labor movement will never resolve that quandary. Capitalism is not fair, therefore labor will never be. We can only strive to reduce the gray area in between; watching the poor become poorer and county workers asking for more money will not accomplish anything.

I know many people want to live in the Santa Cruz area. Go anywhere in America, mention Santa Cruz and people know what you’re talking about. The reality is it’s expensive to live here and unless you are one of the lucky few that have very high paying jobs, you will never be able to own the perfect home or live the lifestyle you dream about. As the human resource agency we tell our participants to gain as much education as they can and work as hard as they can to move up the ladder at whatever they do. That is how the system works, through constant and tiring exertion.

The argument that county employees should receive more pay because managers are paid so much is comical. Managers are supposed to make more money because they are managers. How can a business model function if parity is across the board? You must have levels of pay, some greater in distance than others, it’s what makes employees go back to school and make an attempt at a promotion. What would be the benefit of being a manager if the pay was almost equal to the people you are managing?

If the county has the funds to provide us the pay raises and terms we are asking for, I suggest that money be put back in the community, not the pockets of county workers. Every year we see fewer services for the people that desperately need a helping hand. The county deserves a workforce that is committed to public service.

I need a union that will communicate with its members. I don’t want to find out in the newspaper about our Executive Director getting sacked. I don’t want to hear our negotiating team resigned the night before calling on a strike. I stand for what I have done today because I believe it is the right thing to do. I do not believe in conformity and solidarity if the circumstances are unjust. I believe in common sense and the personal choice to take the first step to make a greater change.



Helbard AlkhassAdeh
Employment & Training Specialist
CareerWorks
HRA / County of Santa Cruz