More than 100 Alameda County workers marched on the Board of Supervisors to dema… – Press Release

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OAKLAND, Calif., March 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — To protest 2,611 vacant positions – nearly 25% of the entire County workforce – more than 100 Alameda County workers marched on the County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 14 at noon. The long-standing vacancy crisis and increased demands for public services is causing dangerous backlogs in critical departments including Children and Family Services, Aging and Adult Services, Welfare Benefits Administration, Child Support Services, Healthcare Service, Mental Health Services, and WIC (Women, Infants and Children).

The County workers have a simple demand to bring to the Board: “Staff up Alameda County!” They point to the County’s increasing population of people experiencing homelessness, which more than doubled between 2011 and 2022, according to the County’s own point-in-time count (from 4,178 in 2011 to 9,747 in 2022 (from Presentation to Alameda County Board of Supervisors Health Committee by Colleen Chawla, HCSA Director on Sept 12, 2022, item 1d), to increasing Medi-Cal enrollment, along with growing CalFresh and CalWORKS caseloads. Meanwhile, as the needs grow, the workforce is losing ground, with 2,611 vacant positions at last count and a Countywide vacancy rate that increased 49.9% from June 2020 to August 2022.

Pamela Boyle, an Auditor-Appraiser III with the County, said, “Five years ago, I took a pay cut to come work for the County in the Appraiser’s office. Our job is to assess property, and what that does is provide tax revenues for the people of Alameda County. Revenue for schools, parks, streetlights, social services, and food programs. We’ve been understaffed for three years. My team alone lost three of its most experienced auditors in the past year. What does that mean for the County, and for the services not being provided? Fewer child welfare visits. Fewer medical welfare visits. Less money for food security programs and summer camp programs. We need the Alameda County Board of Supervisors…

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