Arbitrator Rules City of Oakland Violated the Law When It Contracted Out Jobs
An Arbitrator ruled that the City of Oakland violated the City Charter and the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) when it contracted out work at the Oakland Museum. The City argued that it had, in effect, ended its operation of the museum by turning over control of the Museum to the Oakland Museum of California Foundation. The Arbitrator rejected this argument, instead finding that the City had simply contracted out work that had previously been performed by City workers.
The Arbitrator concluded that this contracting out violated the City of Oakland’s Charter, which prohibits contracting out when it results in a loss of City jobs. He also concluded that the City violated the MMBA when it failed to bargain with City Unions over the decision to contract out.
This is a victory for both workers and City tax-payers. A recent study by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) concluded that governments pay “billions more annually in taxpayer dollars to hire contractors” than they would “to hire [government] employees to perform comparable services.” The study finds governments pay contractors nearly twice as much for services than they would to government employees.
Author: Jake White
