Union representing city technical workers plans one-day strike
on October 27, 2026
The faint sounds of chants and drums echoed through Downtown Oakland Tuesday, as city workers represented by the International Federation of Professional Technical Engineers Union Local 21 marched from Oakland City Hall to the main branch of the Oakland Public Library on their lunch break.
As the volume grew into a steady wave of whistles and car honks, union members dressed in ocean blue demonstrated their resolve, announcing they will hold a one-day strike on Nov, 5 if contract negotiations with the city remain unresolved.
Concerns around artificial intelligence use and high staff vacancy rates have led members to feel overworked, pushing the 11,000-member union to authorize a strike last week, which led to Tuesday’s announcement.
“We definitely view ourselves as partners with the city,” said Julian Ware, union vice president. “We also have a lot of workers that are dedicated to the work that they do, so they also don’t want to disrupt the day-to-day flow of the services to residents. But we definitely want to make it very clear our level of displeasure with how things are going.”
Ware, who works in the city’s Information Technology Department, said it was important for the union to incorporate protections for AI into the contract because the city’s AI policy is not robust enough to protect workers. The union also wants to ensure workers are not responsible for AI output, especially if that output leads to increased workload.
“We don’t want to see us being bots,” Ware said. “You’re nourished by the relationships that you have with your co-workers and that’s something that we don’t want to see go away.”
Ware said the city has been more engaged with the union recently, and he remains hopeful that the continued pressure will lead to a contract soon.
Sean Maher, an Oakland spokesperson, said in a statement that talks with the union are ongoing and that he expects they will reach an agreement. Maher added the city has offered multi-year wage increases, but he made no mention of the AI concerns raised by Ware.
The city also is negotiating with three other unions: Service Employees International Union Local 1021, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 and the Confidential Management Employees Association.
The city announced a labor agreement with International Association of Firefighters Local 55 on Tuesday, and earlier this month reached agreements with the management and rank-and-file police unions. Those agreements included pay raises and modest pension increases over the next five years.
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