June 30, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

History doesn't repeat itself

by Bill D'Agostino

Had city workers gone on strike this week, the tension and disruption of such an action could have scared the city for years, if history is any indicator.

Scars from Palo Alto's first -- and only - strike in 1975 lingered for numerous years after the walkout, according to city leaders from the time.

"It took us a long, long time to recover from that strike," recalled Jay Rounds, who was the city's human resources director that year.

The bitter work stoppage began on July 1, and lasted three and a half weeks.

During the stretch, there were numerous incidents of vandalism thought to be strike related. The lock at Rinconada Pool was sealed by Crazy Glue. Nails were found in parking lots. Toilets were plugged up in Foothills Park. Gas meters were shut off.

"They never did figure out whether that was done by strikers or somebody else," Rounds said.

City facilities and parks received less upkeep but services mostly ran smoothly, thanks partially to some creative use of managers' time. Police Chief Jim Zurcher, for instance, mowed the lawns at the golf course.

"It was hard on the management employees because they had to work long hours," Rounds said.

And of course, union employees went without pay. "When they missed their second paycheck, it started to get pretty serious for them," said Rounds, who retired in 2001 after working 31 years with the city.

The strike had some unintended positive consequences. The city actually made money, Rounds noted. Many city revenues are tied to taxes, and those taxes continued to come in even though workers weren't providing the services, he explained.

Former City Manager George Sipel also recalled that "some of the managers got out to see what the workplace was like, and realized things needed some changes."

Palo Alto and the world were very different in 1975. The Vietnam War had ended a few months earlier. The nation was preparing to celebrate its bicentennial. And, most relevant for the city's union, inflation rates were in double digits. Workers demanded pay raises that mirrored those increases. Ultimately, the workers received a 7.5 percent raise with an additional 2 percent in the middle of the year.

Political forces had recently shifted in the city at the time of the strike. A bloc of conservative City Council candidates defeated three long-time liberal council members in a May election.

"My reaction at the time was that the new council had given away the store in the new settlement," said former councilman Dick Rosenbaum, one of the three defeated "residentialists."

In 1975, the city also had a much different relationship with the union members. Workers at that time lived in the city or nearby, and felt more part of the community than many do today. Also, residents were less rich and less demanding.

Since then, workers had to watch as many residents effectively won the lottery working for dot-com companies, and home prices skyrocketed. Today, most union members can't afford to live in, or near, the city.

Also, whereas Palo Alto used to be one of the leaders in pay among local cities, today it is only in the middle of the pack. "I'm sure there's resentment over that," said former mayor Gary Fazzino, who interned in the city manager's office in the summer of 1975.

Recently, the union members were also upset when they watched the city's daily newspaper publish their salaries, which they felt was an unnecessary loss of their privacy.

"It's extremely difficult to be a rank-and-file city worker in this day and age in Palo Alto," Fazzino said. Weekly editor Jay Thorwaldson contributed to this story.

Staff writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com

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