Nearly 4,500 San Jose city employees will go on a three-day strike next week, citing chronic understaffing and low pay, the unions representing the workers announced Monday.
The unions and the city have been negotiating for months and the workers have been working without a contract since it expired in late June.
The union says that many departments are understaffed, and the city had around 1,000 open positions at one point this year. Workers from the city have said that many people who work for San Jose end up leaving for another job at a city with higher pay.
The decision to strike came after a vote held by the union last week, and was announced Monday at a rally with city workers, representatives of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21 and the Municipal Employees' Federation-American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local in front of San Jose City Hall.
The strike will take place from August 15-17.
"We are committed to negotiating a deal that's fair to everyone -- our workers and our residents who rely on the essential services our city provides," said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan in a statement. "But the hard truth is, this money has to come from somewhere. If my council colleagues want to go beyond our last, best and final offer of a 5% raise next year, they will have to identify which core city services they are willing to cut."
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