More than 4,000 San Jose employees are asking for a raise -- but the city has yet to come close to meeting their demands.
For the past 13 weeks, a coalition of two unions representing more than half of the city's employees -- MEF-AFSCME Local 101 and IFPTE Local 21 -- have been in salary negotiations, to adjust for cost of living and to make up for no raises in 2020 when the pandemic first struck.
"It doesn't feel good to know the city hasn't worked more with us to give us what we deserve," fire department dispatcher Scarlet Darmousseh told San Jose Spotlight."Half of us can't afford to live in a city that we work in. The city isn't trying to be comparable to other cities or agencies in the Bay Area. The raise would basically show that the city appreciates us.
Despite Mayor Matt Mahan lauding the progress of these contract agreements, Darmousseh said it hurts that thousands of other workers are still in negotiations. Her department is currently at about half capacity, which she said leads to slower response times and overtime for workers who are already overwhelmed responding to fires, heart attacks and other health scares.
Jun's concerns are reflected in areas like the city's planning department, where vacancies there have led to massive backlogs in permitting. It used to take about 25 days to issue a permit, but now it takes almost a year, city data showed. Representatives from IFPTE Local 21 said while vacancy rates may be comparable to other local governments, these agencies have increased wages at a much higher rate than San Jose. For example, Contra Costa County, which also has similar vacancy struggles, recently approved a 15% raise over the next three years, said Elizabeth Kamya, a union bargainer for San Jose city employees.
However, Jennifer Schembri, director of human resources, said those dollars can't be used for raises.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Historic downtown San Jose office building may become housing highriseThe iconic Bank of Italy office tower in downtown San Jose might gain a new mission as a housing highrise.
Read more »
San Jose: Woman killed in Interstate 880 car wreckThe 18-year-old victim was not wearing her seatbelt at the time of the collision, according to the CHP.
Read more »
Remembering Anthony Bourdain: Best lines from his San Jose showRevered chef, author, traveler, documentarian died 5 years ago today
Read more »
Community hub Open San Jose ready for its grand openingThe 18,000 square-foot media center is home to CreaTV San Jose and other nonprofits including Works/San Jose and Chopsticks Alley will have festivities Saturday.
Read more »
Solo car crash kills 18-year-old on I-880 in San JoseAn 18-year-old woman was killed when the car she was riding in overturned and struck a concrete wall on Interstate Highway 880 in San Jose early Thursday morning.
Read more »
San Jose hotel room break-in attempt caught on cameraA woman visiting San Jose on business was in her hotel room when someone started trying to open her door from the outside using a bizarre device, and she caught the terrifying experience on video.
Read more »