Oakland City Workers Prepare for a Possible Strike as Contract Talks Drag On

Oakland's two largest civilian city unions are openly preparing for a strike, the first in nearly a decade, after months of contract talks with the city have failed to produce a deal.

Who is involved

IFPTE Local 21 represents the city's professional and technical staff, such as engineers, inspectors and planners. SEIU Local 1021 represents clerical and front-line service workers, including 911 dispatchers. Together they cover about 3,100 city employees, according to The Oakland Report. Their contracts, along with those of IBEW Local 1245 and the Confidential Management Employees Association, expired June 30.

Both unions held "strike schools" in late September to explain workers' legal rights, and they picketed Mayor Barbara Lee's State of the City speech on Oct. 6. SEIU posted a strike-vote schedule on Oct. 1, but no strike date had been announced as of that day, The Oakland Report said.

What the unions want

The unions frame the dispute around staffing. IFPTE Local 21 says about 20% of city jobs are vacant, and that the shortage slows road paving, illegal dumping cleanup and 911 response. "If we're forced to strike, it's not because our members are eager to walk away from our work and the community we serve," SEIU chapter president Antoinette Blue, a 911 dispatcher, said in the union's advisory.

The money problem

The City Council has final say on any contract. In September it approved a new police union contract running through June 2031. The Oakland Report noted that deal includes a "me too" clause letting officers match better terms a civilian union wins before 2031, so a richer civilian settlement would also raise police costs. The city has relied on one-time money and declared "extreme fiscal necessity" for a fourth straight year to tap restricted funds.

What a strike would look like

The last city strike came in 2017, when more than 2,000 SEIU members walked off the job for seven days and IFPTE and IBEW members joined in sympathy, largely shutting down city services for a week. Residents could see similar disruption to permitting, inspections and other counter services if talks fail.