February 1, 2023

San Mateo County Extra Help Workers Rally for Equality

Members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 829 and Service Employees International Union Local 521 rallied at the San Mateo County Center January 17.

San Mateo County Extra Help Workers and supporters held a “Rally for Equality” January 17 at the San Mateo County Center in Redwood City to highlight their fight for a fair contract. Several union members also spoke at the Board of Supervisors meeting to demand a fair contract.

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 829 and Service Employees International Union Local 521 represent 800 of the County’s 2,000 extra help employees, about 26 percent of the County workforce. The unions have been in negotiations with the County for a new contract since September 2022; the previous contract expired a year ago.

A statement from SEIU 521 noted that, “Extra Help members work the same jobs as their full time coworkers but DO NOT receive the same benefits, work protections, or pay. It’s a broken system that the County uses to save its bottom line. Just like permanent workers, we serve our community. Unfortunately, our contract does not provide comprehensive benefits which allow us to recruit and retain workers. To provide the best service to our county, we need a fair contract. We believe strongly in making the term ‘extra help’ obsolete. In San Mateo County, SEIU 521 members demand respect and justice because we do the same jobs and care deeply for those we serve. We deserve permanency, we deserve protection, and we deserve the same benefits of our colleagues throughout the County of San Mateo Government.”

The unions are calling for a fair contract that includes a $2,000 COVID pandemic bonus (equivalent to the bonus received by permanent employees), a path to permanent positions, health insurance, vacation leave and sick leave, and retirement security. The unions are also seeking to align the Extra Help and Permanent Workers’ contracts.

SEIU 521 Representative Lupe Guitierrez, who has worked for the County Health Department for 30 years, said permanent employees rely on the work of the extra help employees. “They should be treated the same,” she said. “The workers are united.” Guitierrez said the extra help employees “kept working through the pandemic” and deserve bonuses and benefits.

While the extra help employees normally are hired to fill temporary vacancies, many remain classified as temporary part time employees for years.

SEIU 521 bargaining team member Gabe Maldonado has worked part time for 28 years as a Youth Counselor at the County’s residential center for foster care youth. He said that under the two-tier system, the extra help workers don’t accrue enough hours to qualify for paid sick leave, health care, or retirement benefits. He said the workers who are insured under the Affordable Care Act still face high co-pays they can’t afford. “As extra help employees, we are often overlooked, but the fact is, we do the exact same jobs as our permanent colleagues and worked shoulder to shoulder through the pandemic. We have the same issues at work and we should bargain our contracts together at the same time,” Maldonado said.

“We’ve worked hard to put reasonable common-sense proposals on the table to improve the lives of county employees and the public that our members serve. Unfortunately, we’ve seen our proposals rejected one after the other,” AFSCME Local 829 Representative Gaelan Ash said. “We’re really grateful for the support from the elected board of supervisors, and we’re hopeful that we can reach an agreement soon.”