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City of Berkeley and SEIU Dodge Strike

Keith Burbank (BCN)
Saturday June 16, 2018 - 10:14:00 AM

A strike was averted in Berkeley when city administrators today agreed to wage and safety measures with nearly 600 union workers, union officials said.  

Clerical and maintenance workers with the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 reached a tentative 2-year contract agreement before the 600 workers and 400 supporters walked off the job.  

City officials will allow maintenance workers to help evaluate situations when vehicles and equipment don't work to prevent future worker deaths. Sanitation worker Johnny Tolliver died on the job in 2016 when he was pinned between his truck and a utility pole. 

"We feel this new safety precaution will save lives," SEIU 1021 spokesman Carlos Rivera said.  

Clerical and maintenance workers will also receive cost-of-living adjustments, the other sticking point in the negotiations.  

Four hundred librarians, public health clinic workers and analysts were ready to strike with the clerical and maintenance workers if an agreement wasn't reached, according to union officials. 

City officials and union leaders also agreed to form a work group with community members to create an apprenticeship program to help area residents develop skills that will help them find work.  

Funding for the program may come from cannabis tax revenue.