Oakland City Workers Urge Adoption of "Option 1" Budget with Contingency

To prevent severe cuts to city services, unions representing city employees call on the City Council to adopt a budget that assumes the success of the Coliseum sale.

OAKLAND, Calif., July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As the City Council prepares to make its final vote on the budget, unions representing Oakland city employees assert their firm stance that anticipated revenue from the Coliseum sale must be used to protect public services. The coalition of unions includes 4,000 city workers in IFPTE Local 21, SEIU 1021, IBEW 1245, and Oakland Firefighters Local 55.

"Brownouts for fire engines delay emergency response and endanger lives, especially now during fire season," said Zac Unger, firefighter and IAFF 55 President. "We urge the Council to adopt the Option 1 budget proposal."

"Oakland's public safety hangs in the balance," said Julian Ware, IFPTE Local 21 Oakland Vice President. "If Council turns its back on the Coliseum sale, we're staring down $63 million in cuts to Police, Fire, and Violence Prevention."

"The cuts we face if Council doesn't use the Coliseum sale mean fewer officers and years of fire engine brownouts," said Antoinette Blue, Police Communications Dispatcher and SEIU 1021 Chapter President for the City of Oakland. "These are potential emergencies waiting to happen."

"Protecting our essential services is never a risk. It's an investment in the safety of our community," said Lead Electrician Michael Patterson, IBEW Local 1245. "The Coliseum sale is on track, and when the money comes in we will be relieved to have avoided all these cuts."

The proposed 'Option 1' budget assumes the success of the Coliseum sale and provides a contingency plan in the event the City does not receive funds from the sale of the Coliseum by September 1, 2024. If City Council doesn't adopt the 'Option 1' budget, the alternative 'Option 2' budget would force over $63 million in immediate and severe cuts, including:

• Freezing 68 sworn police officers, reducing the total to 610 after attrition
• Canceling 2 police academies
• Brownouts for 4 fire engine companies

Represented union members serve as firefighters, 911 dispatchers, illegal dumping crews, head start coordinators, and librarians along with hundreds of other jobs that keep Oakland running every single day.

SOURCE IFPTE Local 21