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Oxnard city workers press council for authority to bargain cost-of-living adjustments
Summary
Union representatives, city employees and labor organizers told the council during public comment that city negotiators must be authorized to secure cost-of-living adjustments so city employees can afford to live in Oxnard; union speakers said members had been working without a ratified contract for nearly a month.
Union leaders and city employees urged the Oxnard City Council on July 29 to authorize the city’s bargaining team to negotiate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) and to finalize a contract for city workers.
Representatives from SCIU Local 721 and SEIU 721, which represent a range of municipal employees, said city negotiators need explicit direction from the council to complete a fair contract. “City employees are 29 days without a contract,” said Leonard Castillo, a worksite organizer with SCIU Local 721, who asked the council to authorize negotiators to seek a COLA and stronger wages. Carson Acosta, regional director for SCIU Local 721, said the inability of workers to afford to live in Oxnard threatens the city’s ability to retain staff: “Our members deserve a fair contract with strong wages that allow members to work in the city that they serve.”
Speakers described the practical impacts of flat pay: difficulty housing workers locally, increased turnover and reduced ability to recruit critical positions. Several union representatives asked the council to give negotiators the authority to reach a contract that includes COLAs rather than short-term one-time bonuses. “One-time bonus money is not going to cut it,” Castillo said.
Council members did not record a formal vote on bargaining authority during the meeting; multiple councilmembers expressed support for asking staff to work with unions on negotiations. City negotiators and union leaders indicated they would continue bargaining outside of the meeting and seek the council’s formal ratification once an agreement is reached.
