As you may know, we have been working diligently to protect our members from the unfair concessions that the City is seeking from us. What was originally a concern over lost sales tax revenue due to COVID-19, has transformed into a variety of falsehoods and disrespect for our sacrifices, and our excellent public service.
We won’t sit back idly while the City continues with their disrespect. That’s why we need all hands on deck at the El Monte City Council on Tuesday, July 20th at 6PM.
Instead of showing their gratitude for all of our essential work during the pandemic, the City is making up all the reasons it can to deny us what we deserve.
We sacrificed by taking furloughs and deferring our raises, but now the City is reneging on its promise to make us whole when they received financial assistance. The ARPA funding can absolutely restore the economic sacrifices that we made over the last year, but the City is incorrectly saying that it can only be allocated to residents or those “working directly to mitigate COVID-19.”
On top of that, they’re also saying that we if we don’t perform any of the work that they deem essential, we can’t receive any money provided by the ARPA. That’s absolutely wrong, and they know it.
Make no mistake, they have the money. The ARPA is also supposed to backfill the $6 million of the City’s lost revenue for 2020. The reality is ARPA rules not only allow for, but prioritize restoring our economic sacrifices.
Time and again, we have helped the City when it had financial problems. The City has the ability and duty to acknowledge, and respect the work that we do in providing essential services for El Monte. Come to the City Council Meeting on Tuesday, July 20th at 6PM to stand in unity with your fellow members.
We will be emphasizing the impact we have suffered and why the relief is justified. If you feel comfortable, we invite you to add your story as well.
We’ve always been Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers — let’s remind them on Tuesday.