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County workers press supervisors on understaffing and stalled contract talks at public comment
Summary
SEIU members and frontline county employees urged the Board of Supervisors to address chronic understaffing — citing 200+ vacancies in Health & Social Services and eight vacant 911 dispatch positions — and called for equity adjustments and renewed bargaining during public comment.
Members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and frontline county staff used public comment at the Dec. 21 meeting to press the Board of Supervisors for action on bargaining and staffing shortages.
Several speakers including Linda Cheeseman, Nicole Chavera Garcia (SEIU chapter president), Amber Searcy and Jennifer Rivera described staffing shortfalls across Health & Social Services and public safety dispatch. Speakers said dispatch was “down more than 8 positions,” and that H&SS had “more than 200 vacancies,” and they linked those gaps to longer response times, forced overtime and delays in Medi‑Cal and SNAP services for vulnerable residents.
Nicole Chavera Garcia asked the board for a 30‑second moment of silence for a social worker killed in another county and said frontline staff face growing workplace risks. Amber Searcy, a 20‑year county nurse, told supervisors that recent removal of certain contracted medical benefits had added roughly $200 per month to family budgets and described the strain on holiday plans and household finances.
Union speakers argued that prior board actions had granted equity adjustments elsewhere and asked supervisors to revisit similar adjustments for classifications including dispatch, public‑health nurses and paralegals. They urged the board to return to negotiations in good faith and warned of strike authorization votes if bargaining stalls.
Supervisors did not take immediate action during the public comment period but heard requests for better outreach and for bargaining to resume. The public comment record and union requests will be part of future labor and budget discussions.
