FMEF force a stalemate on City Council budget item

FMEF members mobilize before the October 5, 2021 City Council Mtg. FMEF President Ed Bargas is pictured at the microphone.

Dear FMEF member,

We are still in this fight. At the Fullerton City Council meeting this week, Mayor Whitaker’s and Mayor Pro Tem Dunlap’s motions to impose draconian staff cuts on an already depleted workforce failed time and time again. The result: an embarrassing impasse. Councilmembers Silva, Zahra, and Jung refused to go along with the anti-worker ideological schemes of their two colleagues.

The Council’s failure to muster the three votes needed to invest in City services is disappointing but there is no question that the presence, unity, and advocacy of FMEF members kept the worst from happening. Your coworkers filled the Council Chamber and many of them found the courage to deliver their “No Cuts” message directly to the Council. FMEF members are not alone. Your concerns were shared by residents who expressed their displeasure with the City’s inability to hire, train, and retain workers dedicated to maintaining the quality of life in Fullerton.

Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem are nothing if not consistent. Mayor Whitaker has been hostile to City workers throughout his time on the Council. Mayor Pro Tem Dunlap has made no secret of his desire to cut staff despite the City’s 37 vacant positions and millions of dollars in federal pandemic relief funds – funds specifically provided to maintain municipal government services and to create jobs.

Both Whitaker and Dunlap offered only platitudes about “fiscal responsibility” but failed to explain how a City can deliver services, maintain essential water and sewer infrastructure, and provide public safety without City workers. This fight isn’t over, not by a long shot.

What I am most proud of is how FMEF members came together Tuesday night to speak truth to power. Fullerton Firefighter Association President Dan Lancaster was there and spoke to FMEF members after the Council impasse. “I have never seen FMEF come out the way you did tonight." He said that it takes ALL municipal workers standing together to deliver City services to the residents. “We have your backs,” Lancaster told us. “You can hold your heads high tonight.” You can view a slide show of photos from the event here.

FMEF members must continue to stand proud. Reversing the erosion of City services and restoring dignity and fairness to City workers will be a long process. “We don’t choose to do these things because they are easy,” said OCEA Asst. General Manager, Tim Steed. “We do these things because they are hard. Anything worth doing is going to take a lot of work.”

FMEF members know how to work. I consider it a privilege to stand together with you in our fight adequately fund Fullerton’s services and workers.

In Solidarity,

Veronica Rodarte
Sr. Labor Relations Representative

Publication Date: October 8, 2021