Jacob Evans, Kern County Deputy Public Defender

There’s dissension in the ranks of a local labor unit that has petitioned to break away from the Service Employees International Union Local 521 and form its own association. Twenty-six Deputy Public Defenders, more than half of the current total, and seven out of eleven investigators in the Kern County Public Defender’s office say they no longer wish to be represented by SEIU Local 521. 

“Originally, SEIU leadership was very slow to respond to our requests,” said deputy public defender Jacob Evans, who once served as a shop steward for SEIU. “I would send a question (to union leadership) about how things work or what to do about a complaint and I wouldn’t get a reply for three weeks or more,” said Evans, a six-year veteran with the public defender’s office. 

He claims local SEIU leadership sometimes agreed with management to cut an employee’s pay without ever talking to the affected employees and that union members often received conflicting or unreliable information. Further, Evans claims SEIU local leadership demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of what attorneys do or their responsibilities to their clients. Others echoed similar feelings. 

“(SEIU) are not best suited at adequately representing all employees, at least not while the majority of employees are lumped in together with other classifications where job duties/needs differ greatly,” said Tianna Schweer, a Senior Investigator for close to 10 years. She continued saying, “SEIU says that we must advocate for ourselves, so let CMEU do it for ourselves. Deputy Public Defenders and Investigators know what our specific needs are and are willing and able to fight for them.” 

In a phone interview, SEIU Local 521 Chief Elected Officer Riko Mendez shot back at those claims. “That is completely false, that is not the truth. Now, it doesn’t mean that people don’t feel that way, but the facts tell you differently,” said Mendez. He noted that out of 11 members on the SEIU bargaining team, two of those are from the Public Defender’s office. 

In January, the employees filed a decertification petition with the Kern County Human Resources division and formed their own union, the Constitutionally Mandated Employees’ Union (CMEU) Local 148. But it’s been a slow process A decertification hearing was held in June before the Kern County Civil Service Commission to gather public comments from CMEU members and an SEIU attorney. The Commission voted 4-0 to recognize CMEU as an employee organization and recommended that within 30 days, the matter be placed before the Kern County Board of Supervisors to organize a vote to let employees decide which union to join. “This seems like a divorce court to a degree. Look, they don’t want to be in a relationship anymore,” quipped Commissioner Michael Bowers at the hearing. 

SEIU however, filed a complaint with the Public Employees Relations Board claiming the Commission erred in several ways, including failing to hold an evidentiary hearing that satisfies any notion of due process. Noting that Kern County and SEIU are currently in negotiations, SEIU accused Kern County and the Commission of colluding to discredit Local 521 and create division among union members to gain leverage at the bargaining table. If any vote will happen, it’s on hold. PERB is currently reviewing SEIU’s complaint and a decision is expected in mid-November. 

Other attorneys at the Public Defender’s office are opposed to breaking away from SEIU. “Leaving SEIU leaves behind our lowest paid workers, our clerical staff,” said deputy public defender Ajaib Gill and shop steward with SEIU. Gill said SEIU has vast resources at its disposal and is a powerful political force to be reckoned with in dealing with county administrators. He put it this way, “This is like Foothill High School deciding they want to break off from Kern High School District, and thinking they’ll fare better on their own.” Interesting analogy. 

But the dissatisfaction with SEIU Local 521 goes beyond the attorneys and investigators at the Public Defender’s office. A couple of weeks ago other union members and employees from Arvin, CAPK, Superior Court and other entities held a picket in downtown Bakersfield against local SEIU leadership, saying SEIU has abandoned them and are silenced when speaking out. A decertification petition against SEIU Local 521 by one of its units in Kern County has never gotten this far, and should it succeed, would be a huge embarrassment for a union that sways political clout. 

“Our goal is keeping the union together. I think we have a great opportunity to do that and I feel very confident about the PERB decision going our way,” said Mendez. 

Can’t be easy being on opposing sides at the Public Defender’s office as the issue remains unresolved. Said attorney Gill, “We all still hang out in the same break room, and we’re still very close as co-workers and colleagues. It’s just a difference of opinion.”