{"id":20440,"date":"2023-10-21T11:50:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-21T18:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/?p=20440"},"modified":"2023-10-21T11:50:55","modified_gmt":"2023-10-21T18:50:55","slug":"matt-mahan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/matt-mahan\/","title":{"rendered":"Union leaders reject San Jose mayor's 'olive branch'"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Matt Mahan invited four labor groups representing VTA workers to receive an award for working together to secure more housing options for homeless people in San Jose at the Cerone VTA yard earlier this month. However, union leaders from ATU 265, IFPTE 21, SEIU 521 and AFSCME 1101, which represent more than 2,000 VTA employees, are declining the award and will not be in attendance to accept it. Photo: x Matt Mahan<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Jana Kadah. San Jose Spotlight<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It seems that no matter what San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan does, he can't win favor with his union counterparts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mahan invited four labor groups representing VTA workers to receive an award for collaborating to secure more housing options for homeless people in San Jose at the Cerone VTA yard earlier this month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The award was to be presented Saturday at Mahan's first State of the City address, an annual speech by the mayor to update residents on his performance, progress in solving the city's biggest problems and future plans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Union leaders from ATU 265, IFPTE 21, SEIU 521 and AFSCME 1101, which represent more than 2,000 VTA employees, are declining the award and will not be present to accept it. But VTA officials will be present to accept the award, Mahan said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we appreciate your invitation, we are concerned that you initially chose to defame us and our members and did not engage in a candid process with VTA to address the concerns of all parties,\u201d union representatives wrote in an Oct. 16 letter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mahan said he was disappointed that the invitation was declined because it was meant to celebrate two opposing positions working together to solve homelessness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe important thing is that we all came together to secure a site that will house 200 people currently living in encampments,\u201d Mahan told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThis was one of the biggest discussions and policy decisions we\u2019ve made this year on the VTA (board). I think it\u2019s an important moment to celebrate where we landed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The debate among VTA board members was contentious and fueled by deep political divisions. While unionized workers at the transit agency opposed using the yard for homeless housing due to safety concerns, the plans were ultimately approved with a unanimous vote earlier this month.<\/span><\/p>\n

The relationship between Mahan and the unions was already strained before this, due to a month-long wage negotiation in August that nearly led to the city\u2019s largest employee strike in 40 years. Mahan intended not to give an additional raise beyond what the city was offering, noting that the city could not afford it, and union leaders took that as a sign that Mahan did not fully support the workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tammy Dhanota, SEIU 521 president for the VTA chapter, said she still feels uncomfortable that the San Jose City Council approved the use of VTA sites for homeless housing in 2022 without first talking to employees. She said workers were not part of the process until the last minute, so she considers Mahan\u2019s award to be political and not in good faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I can\u2019t accept it. I feel like it\u2019s a bribe or something,\u201d Dhanota told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIs he giving us a reward for ignoring all of our security concerns going forward?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dhanota said receiving an award after the housing site is complete would make the most sense. Until then, he said he wants to ensure that workers\u2019 concerns are addressed throughout the process of building and filling the transitional housing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that (Mahan) follows through on what he says,\u201d Dhanota said, referring to the safety measures and community advisory groups that workers wanted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mahan said the city worked with union leaders in the months leading up to the Cerone vote and also held a town hall meeting before the vote. He said there was community involvement, but he understands that doesn't mean everyone will be on the same page.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we should focus on the fact that we are moving forward together and putting forward a really meaningful solution that will save lives,\u201d Mahan explained. \u201cI am disappointed that VTA workers are not represented by their union leaders, but that doesn\u2019t change the fact that I am grateful to the workers for being partners in our fight to end homelessness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The State of the City address is tomorrow at San Jos\u00e9 City College, is free to the public and begins at 1:00 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read the original note giving <\/span>Click here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

You may be interested in:<\/strong> San Jos\u00e9 declares homelessness crisis and pledges to accelerate aid<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Por Jana Kadah. San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. Parece que no importa lo que haga el alcalde de San Jos\u00e9, Matt Mahan, no puede ganarse el favor de sus hom\u00f3logos sindicales. Mahan invit\u00f3 a cuatro grupos laborales que representan a los trabajadores de VTA a recibir un premio por colaborar para asegurar m\u00e1s opciones de vivienda para […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,306],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20440","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cover","8":"category-santa-clara"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20440"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20443,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20440\/revisions\/20443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}