Frontline animal shelter workers have spoken with a clear and united voice: San José’s Animal Care and Services Center needs new leadership.

In a staff survey conducted this summer, the overwhelming majority of shelter employees called for the City to bring in a director from outside its current ranks. Their message is simple — it’s time for a fresh start. Workers want a leader who can rebuild trust, restore accountability, and set a new direction for a shelter that has been plagued for years by dysfunction, poor conditions, and low morale.

The results of that survey were recently covered in the Mercury News, where workers’ voices were front and center. The article highlights what staff have been saying for years: the culture inside the shelter cannot change if the same people who presided over past failures remain in charge. You can read the full Mercury News article here.

The stakes are high. A city audit last year exposed…

MEF has taken the City of San Jose to arbitration over its unilateral change to the Flexible Workplace Program. This change forces employees with existing flexible workplace agreements to be in the office at least four days per week instead of three, without negotiating with the Union.

This is a major fight for our members. Instead of handling the case through the City Attorney’s Office as they normally would, the City has hired an outside “special law firm,” the Renee Public Law Group. This firm is known for taking on high-profile fights for cities when the stakes are high or when their legal position is questionable. MEF has submitted an information request to determine how much of the public’s money the City plans to spend on these outside lawyers to take this right away from employees rather than working with us to find a solution.

The City’s first move was to challenge the arbitrability of our grievance, claiming the case does not even belong in arbitration. We view this as an absurd argument and a delay tactic. Our position is that the grievance is clearly covered by the arbitration procedure in our contract, and now the City has the burden of proving otherwise. Unfortunately, the City has developed a pattern of raising procedural technicalities when it wants to avoid addressing the merits of a case.

Here is the current schedule: (more inside)

The City is beginning the process of hiring a new Director for the San José Animal Care Center. This is a moment of real consequence—not just for animal welfare, but for every single worker in the building. The decisions made in the next few weeks will shape the direction of the shelter for years to come.

That’s why we need to speak up.

MEF-AFSCME Local 101 has launched an anonymous survey for current ACS staff to gather your input on what kind of leadership this shelter truly needs. Your responses will guide the union’s conversations with City leadership and help ensure that your voice is part of the hiring process.

🔗 Click here to take the anonymous survey
📄 Read the union’s letter to the City Manager about the hiring panel