Santa Cruz city workers to vote on strike authorization amid staffing concerns and claims of harassment

City of Santa Cruz workers expect to vote Tuesday afternoon on whether to authorize a strike as contract negotiations with the city continue. Workers are raising many familiar issues, including the high cost of living, a need for better staffing levels and the difficulty of retaining employees.

The workers, represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 521, have also accused the city of mishandling alleged physical and sexual harassment incidents experienced by library, parking and sanitation workers by some members of the public. The union represents about 800 permanent and temporary city employees.

The city workers’ most recent three-year contract expired Oct. 10. The union and city reached that agreement following a three-day strike in fall 2022 — the first in Santa Cruz city history. Now, the city and its workers are back at the bargaining table, with workers saying they still feel the pressure of the same issues that drove the 2022 strike.

The recently expired contract included a 12% raise over three years, as well as $1,800 bonuses for all members and salary adjustment payments for some positions that were considered underpaid. SEIU officials declined to specify what the workers are asking for this time, but a union source says that SEIU is requesting a pay hike greater than 12% over the life of the next three-year contract.

Santa Cruz City Manager Matt Huffaker declined to give details on what the city is offering and where the city and the union differ on the contract, but said via email that the city is committed to compensating its workers fairly. 

“Over the past few years, we have implemented comprehensive wage increases at all levels of the organization,” Huffaker wrote. “Remaining competitive in this challenging labor market is an ongoing process, and we look forward to continuing to work with union leaders in good faith to avoid a strike and reach an agreement that aligns with the city’s financial resources.”

Kevin Weber, a 26-year Public Works employee who works in the wastewater department, said employees’ biggest needs are wages and benefits packages that are competitive with other jurisdictions in the Bay Area, which would encourage workers to stay with the city rather than seek higher wages elsewhere. Weber said wastewater workers have important responsibilities — maintaining Santa Cruz’s sanitary sewer system and storm water system — so the city needs to recruit the best possible employees.

“To do that, and retain a competent workforce, we need to have competitive wages that are in line with what’s going on in the rest of the Bay Area,” he said.

Difficulty recruiting and retaining workers can make day-to-day operations difficult, said Weber. He said that in an emergency, like a sewer stoppage that leads to a leak or flood, without enough properly trained personnel to respond, an incident could quickly devolve into a public safety hazard or a health problem for residents. 

“To get the workers to go out and expose themselves to that, you have to offer a competitive package that they’re going to want,” he said.

Weber said that the department has a backup program that involves employees working overtime each week on a rotating schedule to provide more coverage. The workers are requesting that the city hire a second person for this shift.

Weber said that while he doesn’t know an exact number, the department is working with fewer staff members than it should as some employees leave and the city struggles to fill vacancies. He said he can think of a number of colleagues who have moved out of the area to more affordable regions. The county was named the most expensive rental market in the country for the third year in a row.

Along with the familiar cost-of-living concerns, some workers allege that the city has not adequately handled reports of sexual or physical harassment and does not provide enough social services for people in need. 

Library staff say they are often on the front lines of the mental health struggles of the city’s most vulnerable residents. Librarians say sometimes, unhoused residents find temporary shelter, bathrooms and water at libraries, but those struggling with mental health issues can react sometimes aggressively to staff if problems arise, and end up physically and verbally assaulting employees. The workers say that they are not trained to deal with these types of situations, nor paid well enough to manage them. 

Some workers are advocating for more social workers in city libraries and public spaces. They also say the city’s system to report incidents of assault and harassment by members of the public is flawed, and that if a worker does not document a harassment incident well enough, it doesn’t get the attention it should. 

Several library employees raised the concerns at a June city council meeting. A downtown Santa Cruz library worker who introduced herself only as “Odessa” said working there is eye-opening, and shows how many people need more support.

“They have needs that go far beyond the scope of what we as a library can provide, yet they come to us because they cannot get any of their needs met anywhere else,” she said, adding that the library provides water, bathrooms and simply a place to be during the day. “Because these patrons are so often traumatized by their circumstances, and because we are many people’s only access to these vital resources, small interactions can escalate into extreme aggression and sometimes physical violence.”

Another downtown library assistant, who did not give her name, told the council about several incidents that involved physical, sexual and verbal assault while on the job or on her way to and from her workplace: “I don’t have solutions for these complex societal issues, and I don’t think I’m being provided adequate coping mechanisms and compensation to do the job I am expected to do now.” 

Huffaker said the city takes safety concerns seriously, and has “significantly expanded efforts to both track incidents and strengthen staff support” at the libraries over the past year. He noted that the Santa Cruz Public Libraries Joint Powers Authority — the body overseeing operations and setting policies of the county library system — is responsible for safety and day-to-day operations at the libraries. Since mid-2024, the libraries have put more focus on reviewing incidents and enforcing suspensions, which bar people from accessing any of the libraries’ properties, services or programs, he added.

Weber said that Tuesday’s vote will be to consider the city’s current last, best and final offer to the union, at which point workers will accept or reject it and hold a strike authorization vote.

This is the “eighth or ninth” contract negotiation Weber has been a part of. As difficult as the 2022 strike was, it was worthwhile to get what they believed they deserved, he said. 

“It was brutal, but I felt like it was really necessary for achieving what we did achieve,” he said.

The union will announce the results of its strike authorization vote on Tuesday at 3 p.m in front of Santa Cruz City Hall.

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.