This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA.
Workers packed the Board of Supervisors meeting last week to tell county officials about the absurdity of AHS’s proposed layoff plan. Yet again, workers and the community spoke of the importance of AHS services, and the detrimental impacts of cutting staff.
However, unlike the Board of Trustees meetings of the past, where board members complained of workers’ testimonies as “gripes,” the Supervisors seemed to actually take workers’ concerns seriously. Whether lip service or not, they called James Jackson and the executive team out for their failure to ask the county for help before throwing workers under the bus (though not in those words). They stated that they want to work with AHS to protect jobs and ensure that these vital services stay open.
Regardless of the intentions of the individual supervisors at this meeting, it will be up to AHS workers ourselves to be sure they stay true to their words. We must make it clear that the cost of cutting staff and closing down facilities is more than our community can afford. Messing with the workers of AHS is messing with the entire community.
So show up in any way you can. Write and share petitions. Post flyers about upcoming actions in your neighborhood and kids’ schools. Ask neighbors and friends to speak up at future meetings. Talk to coworkers about what actions they are ready to take. This is a fight for our livelihoods and the lives of our community!
Click here to read the article printed in the 02-04-26 Healthcare Newsletter
