06-03-2025
SEIU 24-hour strike puts most Kern County services at a standstill
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — On Wednesday, a massive group of protestors united in front of the Kern County administrative building in response to what they called the 'county's unfair bargaining and staffing crisis.'
The protest began at the Department of Human Services building at 6 a.m., before the angry crowd took their chants to the Kern County Administrative Building four hours later.
'We'll see what these idiots decide to do, and if nothing moves we strike again,' said Attorney Arturo Revelo with the Public Defender's Office.
Revelo says the county doesn't pay enough.
'We train attorneys here in Kern County for all the counties,' said Revelo. 'We get them here. We get them well prepared and then they leave to another county because they can't live with what they make here.'
The protest comes on the heels of the last Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 25, after the union's demands weren't met.
'It's not acceptable,' said Sean Vansickel, an employee with the Beale Memorial Library. 'We've tried negotiating, and they're unwilling to negotiate in good faith. So, we're out here, and we will be back out here if we need to be in the future.'
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SEIU 521 President Alicia Aleman said, 'We're short staffed. We're overworked because we can't retain employees in the different departments. This is a common thread in all departments. It isn't just one.'
Aleman is SEIU chapter president and a social worker for the county. She says most county workers are doing the jobs of three people and they're struggling to serve the community.
'We have the backup of Kern County employees, and they're out here,' said Aleman. 'If this doesn't speak volumes to them, I don't know what else is.'
Not everyone is on board with the strike. Especially, mothers trying to get back to their children who were taken away by social services.
Mother of two, Tekk Huy, is against the protest.
'This shouldn't be appropriate. They should be at their job. They should be watching us visit our kids right now instead of pulling away from that time,' said Huy. 'Don't worry about the money. Do it out of your heart.'
The 24-hour strike impacts food assistance, mental health care, and child protective services.
'I would at least like to see social workers take it down a notch for us parents,' said Huy. 'Like, where's our raise? You wanna raise, I wanna raise my kids.'
The protest isn't done. Aleman said county workers will unite yet again on Saturday.
Kern County spokesperson, Stacy Kuwahara, says each 1% raise comes out to another $5 million a year, and the last proposal would've added another $36 million for union workers.
Kuwahara says the county simply can't maintain it's duty to the taxpayers and the board of supervisors look forward to future renegotiations.
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