Fair contract for extra help

Sometimes you’ll find me in the same line at the food bank with the patients I serve. There are times I have to choose to pay all my bills instead of buying groceries, or vice versa. As a child I thought the struggle I lived through was temporary thing. As an adult, not much has changed.

I have been an extra help employee for five years. As a dedicated worker, I urge the Board of Supervisors to care for us extra help workers as we care for our community. Extra help workers receive no vacation days and only four sick days per year, despited the fact that 53% of us work full time. No one, including county workers, should live in fear of financial loss because we want to care for our family and ourselves.

Year after year we continue to receive praise from elective leaders for our work. However, extra help serves as a Band-Aid solution. We love what we do and deserve permeant positions. Permanency means stability, dedication and commitment. All we want is to provide for our families and receive the same benefits as other permanent employees. Please urge the Board of Supervisors to do the right thing and support a fair contract for extra help.

Monica Velez

Redwood City