South Bay

Local 21-endorsed Tim Orozco is in the June 23 run-off to fill the North San Jose seat on the City Council.  The purpose of the Special Election is to fill the seat left vacant with Labor ally Kansen Chu, who was elected to State Assembly in November.  We need volunteers to remind District 4 voters to cast a ballot in this crucial Special Election.  Voter turnout will be low and most will cast their votes by mail, so we're already working hard to reach out to voters.

Several Local 21 Members were recognized for their work on projects and for representing "the highest level of public service and commitment to the City of San Jose and its residents."  The teams were highlighted based on the "Employee Values of Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Celebration."  Congratulations to Local 21 Members for continuing the highest quality of work for the City.

Years of acrimonious labor relations and expensive litigation around Measure B's pension reform may finally be coming to an end. Last week, the San Jose officials and various City Unions began settlement talks to resolve the Measure B dispute and replace it with a new, more competitive pension benefit for Tier 2 employees. The tenor, tone and substance of the discussions represented a sea change in attitude from what we have experienced in recent years, and we are cautiously optimistic that a settlement can be reached.

Local 21 is excited to share that Leaders and our Executive Committee recently finalized an endorsement of Tim Orozco for San Jose City Council in District 4.

Tim has received the endorsement of the South Bay Labor Council and the County Democratic Party.  He’s running in the April 7 Special Election to represent North San Jose.  He is committed to working with City employees and the community to improve the City’s safety and services and ensuring San Jose benefits from the improving economy.  

In two weeks, mail ballots will hit North San Jose homes as voters choose a new City Councilmember.  This April 7 Special Election is crucial to getting a fix to San Jose's recruitment and service delivery issues.  The winner will be a swing vote on the Council, deciding how to fix the City's illegal Measure B (pension reform), remodel retiree healthcare and negotiate new MOUs with all 11 City Unions.
 

Our Engineers Society and Professional Management Association chapters recently signed a settlement reaffirming our Members' right to advocate issues with District Directors.

The effects of November's election continue to ripple through San Jose.  In the last six weeks, City Manager Ed Shikada was forced to resign, Deputy City Manager and lead labor negotiator Alex Gurza was demoted, and Assistant City Manager Pam Antil resigned.  The nation's 10th largest City now has a new mayor, an interim city manager, two interim assistant city managers and an interim head of employee relations. 
 

On November 10, our legal counsel was informed of an important development in our effort to overturn the City's unlawful Measure B pension reform initiative.
 
California Public Employment Relations Board Administrative Law Judge Eric J. Cu issued a “proposed ruling” concluding that the City violated the law when it failed to meet and confer in good faith with IFPTE Local 21 over placing Measure B on the June 2012 ballot.
 

Save the date for this year’s Local 21 South Bay Holiday Luncheon — December 3 at 11:30 a.m.  We’re returning to the San Jose Airport Garden Hotel.

This is a fun event that brings together Members from all seven South Bay chapters.  Hopefully, this year we’ll have some election victories to celebrate!!

We’re urging Members  to participate in our canned food drive for the Second Harvest Food Bank.  You’ll be entered into a separate raffle for gift cards.

See the flier for more information and to RSVP

The Santa Clara Valley Water District recently received an award for advancing water reuse in their community.

The “Project of the Year, Large” award from the WateReuse Association recognizes the District’s new Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in north San Jose.

Water District employees who worked on this extraordinary project include ES Members Louise Dion, Pam John, Cong Mai, Tim Nguyen, Gary Ohea, Nancy Pan, and Brandon Ponce; and PMA Members Hossein Ashktorab and Mike Munson.