Publication Date: Friday, August 20, 2004
Temp workers: 'It's about time' and money
Temp workers: 'It's about time' and money
(August 20, 2004) City's part-time employees deliver petition to unionize to City Hall
Bill D'Agostino
About a dozen Palo Alto temp workers crammed into two creaky elevators Wednesday to deliver city officials with a petition to create a new bargaining unit.
They did so hopeful that unionization would bring them paid overtime, affordable health care, sick days off, permanent jobs, and other benefits they'd been denied, in some cases for years. The petition was signed by 200 city workers.
Forming a new subdivision of the Service Employees International Union Local 715 would undoubtedly give the Palo Alto workers -- who are employed in most city departments, but primarily work in the libraries or recreational programs -- more negotiating power with the city. United as a group, they could even get a better deal on their families' healthcare plans, perhaps at no additional expense to the city.
During a rally outside City Hall prior to delivering the petition Wednesday, Arlyn Sharpe, who has worked in the city's libraries for nearly four years, said unionization was a "necessity, not an option."
"It's about time we shared some of the same benefits or recognition" as full-time workers, she said.
Wearing purple union shirts, the workers delivered the petitions to Human Resources Director Leslie Loomis. Her office was crowded as reporters and photographers from three newspapers, union organizers, and some full-time workers accompanied the temporary workers.
"We'll work with you fairly," Loomis said as she took the papers. "Thank you and good job."
But the negotiations are likely to be less amiable. They will require give-and-take with city managers, who say they are facing rising costs. Over the past three years, health care expenses have reportedly jumped 50 percent for the city, even as managers eliminated dozens of vacant positions.
Which workers will be included in the new union might be a point of contention, even before negotiations on a contract begin. There are various types of "temporary" workers. Some work less than 1,000 hours a year, while others work full-time but aren't allowed to work more than five consecutive years. The city would likely try to exclude seasonal workers, while union organizers would want them involved.
The city has increasingly hired temporary workers, who don't receive benefits, as the economy stalled and other permanent positions were trimmed. From 1998-1999 to 2002-2003, spending on temporary workers rose from $3 million to $4.2 million, according to a recent report from the city auditor. Even before the unionization push, the city had begun transitioning some of the temporary workers into full-time status with benefits," Assistant City Manager Emily Harrison said.
"Nothing's a given when you sit down to create a new bargaining unit," she said. "To extend benefits to a large number of people would be crippling for us, from a financial standpoint."
The temporary workers may find that unionization doesn't get them very far, if the experience of the city's fire battalions, which most recently formed a union, is any indicator. In the late 1990s, the city's fire battalions unionized, hoping they would negotiate for both time off on par with other managers and overtime pay, which managers are typically exempt from receiving.
"We haven't been able to see eye to eye on that, and we continue to discuss it," Harrison said.
The city has 30 days to count and verify the 200-plus signatures. There are approximately 300 temporary workers; union officials insisted they had the simple majority needed. Loomis, though, pointed out that some permanent employees signed the initial notice stating the workers' desire to organize. Union leaders wanted Loomis to verify the petition in 48 hours, but she told them she couldn't do it that quickly.
The new temp worker's union presents yet another labor strife this year. Earlier this summer, the permanent employees, also represented by SEIU, threatened to strike as contract negotiations stalled.
At the rally Wednesday The Raging Grannies, a liberal singing group, performed traditional union songs during the rally. They also rewrote "Joy to the World," with lyrics tailored for the occasion.
"After 10 years, are you a temp?" the women, wearing colorful hats, sang joyfully. "To us, this makes no sense."
Mark Schlegel has had a full-time job running the Cubberley Community Theatre, on and off, for 10 years. He pays $704 a month for his family's healthcare. He's frustrated that the city keeps telling him it will hire him permanently, without ever doing so.
"Very few hourlies get to make that transition to full-time," Schlegel said.
Library worker Cindy Wee, who grew up in Palo Alto, said she works 15 hours a week in Palo Alto, as well as another job in another nearby library. Neither provides benefits, and she is looking for a third job to pay the bills.
"I just think we've been providing services for so long," Wee said. "Something has to be worked out."
Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com
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