Oakland city employees say they will strike Tuesday

OAKLAND, Calif. - Union leaders representing more than 3,000 Oakland city employees 
said today that they the workers will go on strike on Tuesday to protest what 
they allege are the city's unfair labor practices.
   Leaders of Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and 
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers said they 
offered to enter informal, pre-impasse mediation with the help of former San 
Francisco Mayor and California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown but the city 
refused their offer.
   Oakland city spokeswoman Karen Boyd and a spokesman for Oakland 
Mayor Libby Schaaf didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the 
unions' statement that they will go on strike because the city rejected their 
mediation offer.
   In a statement on Friday night, the city said, "Due to significant 
staff shortages, a strike will force the city to close nearly every city 
facility starting on Tuesday morning."
   However, the city said sworn police and fire personnel won't 
participate in a strike since they are represented by other unions.
   Earlier today, SEIU Local 1021 chief negotiator Rob Szykowny said 
Local 1021 and other unions that represent city employees would be willing to 
postpone a strike if the city agrees to give workers a 4 percent pay increase 
for one year and continue talking about an agreement for two additional years 
with Brown acting as a mediator.
   Schaaf didn't comment earlier today on the possibility of a 
one-year deal and working with Brown as a mediator, but issued a statement in 
which she said, "We will continue to work hard to avert a strike."
   "We value our city employees and there is no doubt our workers 
deserve increased compensation. Yet the City of Oakland cannot offer more 
than it can afford, and it cannot come at the expense of the services we 
provide," Schaaf said.
   She said, "All city employees and residents deserve a financially 
stable and sustainable Oakland."
   Szykowny said if employees go on strike, it would be because of 
what he described as "multiple unfair labor practices" by the city, workplace 
conditions, understaffing levels and cost of living concerns.
   Szykowny said SEIU Local 1021 and other unions have been 
negotiating with the city for seven months but haven't been able to reach an 
agreement yet.
   Local 1021 represents more than 2,000 public works employees, 
parking enforcement officers, Head Start instructors, and early education 
teachers.
   Local 1021 spokesman Chris Flink said if that union goes on 
strike, IFPTE Local 21, which represents about 1,000 professional and 
technical employees, including engineers, building inspectors and planners, 
would engage in a sympathy strike.
   In addition, several hundred city employees who belong to the 
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers would respect Local 1021's 
picket lines, according to Flink.
   Oakland city officials said in the statement they issued on Friday 
night that they made a "last, best and final offer" that includes wage 
increases of up to 6 percent over three years, including 4 percent for the 
first year of their proposed contract.
   The city said it also will continue to provide fully-paid family 
health care benefits and absorb all pension and health care-related rate 
increases.
   SEIU Local 1021 conducted a half-day strike on Nov. 2 that shut 
down Oakland libraries, senior centers, child care programs, park and 
recreation centers and other city services.