{"id":238,"date":"2026-06-01T15:40:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238"},"modified":"2026-06-01T15:40:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:40:28","slug":"somerville-city-council-passes-resolutions-to-recognize-new-union-strengthen-sanctuary-city-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238","title":{"rendered":"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Nearly a week after layoffs roiled city hall, the Somerville City Council passed resolutions to recognize the new Somerville Workers United (SWU) union and strengthen sanctuary city protections, among other business.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=236\">Encouraged by climate change innovation funding<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The SWU vote was the first of three resolutions at the council\u2019s May 28 meeting addressing the City\u2019s recent organizational and personnel changes. The second two were presented by Councilor Will Mbah; they called for the mayor\u2019s office to provide details of the recent layoffs and to formally present their organizational restructuring plan to the council.<\/p>\n<p>But the vote to recognize SWU came after 13 staffers were let go due to budget shortfalls. A majority of the laid off workers had already signed union cards or were leading organizing efforts, SWU members said after the meeting. SWU also shared details of where 10 of the 13 layoffs came from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development \u2013 <strong>2<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Office of Racial and Social Justice \u2013 <strong>2<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Health and Human Services Department \u2013 <strong>4<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Grants Development and External Funds Department \u2013 <strong>1<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Office of Sustainability and Environment \u2013 <strong>1<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been on this council for nine years. I have not seen layoffs,\u201d said Ben Ewen-Campen, who co-sponsored the recognition resolution, speaking at the meeting. \u201cI know that this round of layoffs has just been incredibly difficult, obviously, for the workers who lost their jobs and for their colleagues. And it has brought a real sense of urgency to the work that they do, and this organizing, in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>City workers speak out<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>During public comment, City staffers shared personal and at times emotional testimony about the effects of the layoffs. Luis Quizhpe, who was laid off after nearly four years as strategic planning and equity manager in the office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, rued that the union had not been recognized, saying it would have \u201cprevented the work we were doing for our most vulnerable residents from being unceremoniously strangled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Quizhpe added, \u201cInstead, years of work were reduced to a five-minute meeting informing me that my position was eliminated during our attempt to collaboratively engage with the administration in good faith towards a formal recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also speaking was Benjamin Wyner, who still is employed as inclusionary housing program manager. He said he joined the union effort \u201cbecause we need to ensure our work is sustainable and that staff do not burn out trying to constantly do more with less.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wyner said his department was understaffed and overworked, even after it added an administrative assistant and a housing intake specialist. Now those two positions are gone. Wyner said he often works over 50 hours a week and is pretty sure he hasn\u2019t taken a full hour-long lunch break in about six months. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese layoffs sent a message to staff across the city,\u201d Wyner said, arguing that they indicated the administration is not going to work with staff to make big decisions, \u201cthat we\u2019re on our own. That no help is coming. That we can be used as tools for political bargain and expect nothing in return.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kate Bossingham, environmental policy manager at the Office of Sustainability and Environment, pointed out the discrepancy between the mayor\u2019s pro-union stance and his administration\u2019s response to their outreach efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=234\">Transparency on tap during feisty debate between Decker and MacKay<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast Wednesday, the mayor attended a Greater Boston Labor Council meeting right down the street at the Somerville Armory,\u201d Bossingham said. \u201cHe gave a speech in support of unions. That afternoon, he walked into layoff meetings with staff, most of which were within the Somerville Workers United proposed bargaining unit. Only two days later \u2013\u2013\u00a0after he emailed all staff, assuring us that layoffs were finished \u2013\u2013\u00a0did a member of his team respond to our emails agreeing to a meeting. Is that the kind of disregard that passes for pro-labor leadership in the City of Somerville?\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Following the SWU comments, Councilor Will Mbah presented the resolutions requesting details about the cut positions and information about how they fit into the mayor\u2019s equity agenda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the greatest appreciations I have from the previous administration,\u201d Mbah said, \u201cwas the focus on equity,\u201d but he has been worried amid the layoffs and restructuring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf municipal government doesn\u2019t reflect the population itself,\u201d he said, \u201cthen don\u2019t use the word equity in your administration.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Sanctuary city protections \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Mbah and Ewen-Campen presented a sanctuary city resolution adding a series of changes to Somerville\u2019s existing Welcoming Communities Ordinance.<\/p>\n<p>The amendments, which passed unanimously, state that Somerville\u2019s police department may not cooperate with ICE officers unless required by law to do so. They also include a lengthy addendum that prohibits the city from entering into agreements with federal agencies that \u201cfacilitate information-sharing or surveillance\u201d for activities that violate civil liberties or penalize people for exercising their First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Next steps<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Following Thursday\u2019s meeting, SWU organizers shared a statement via email. \u201cWe are grateful for the City Council\u2019s unanimous support for voluntary recognition of our union, and their advocacy for us as workers,\u201d they said. \u201cDozens of us were in council chambers and we are particularly proud of our members who spoke up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>SWU said they met with Mayor Jake Wilson on Friday to formally ask for recognition from the city. \u201cHe has a couple of days to come to his decision,\u201d they said, \u201cbut we have the numbers to file for Written Majority Authorization and will do so if he fails to give the union recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>City spokesperson Grace Munns was unable to provide immediate comment about next steps following the resolutions. The City has previously stated it is planning to share its budget book with the City Council by June 4, and the public budget hearing is June 10. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=232\">Loud bang heard across region, cause unknown<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly a week after layoffs roiled city hall, the Somerville City Council passed resolutions to recognize the new Somerville Workers United (SWU) union and strengthen sanctuary city protections, among other business. Read more Encouraged by climate change innovation funding The SWU vote was the first of three resolutions at the council\u2019s May 28 meeting addressing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[142,143],"class_list":["post-238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-city-council","tag-somerville-city-council","tag-somerville-workers-united"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections - Cambridge Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections - Cambridge Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nearly a week after layoffs roiled city hall, the Somerville City Council passed resolutions to recognize the new Somerville Workers United (SWU) union and strengthen sanctuary city protections, among other business. Read more Encouraged by climate change innovation funding The SWU vote was the first of three resolutions at the council\u2019s May 28 meeting addressing [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cambridge Moving Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-01T15:40:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fd5ad832d9b2ddb71a83fd908922373\"},\"headline\":\"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-01T15:40:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238\"},\"wordCount\":979,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/909f77a3185c8044f374020fe0d1588c.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Somerville City Council\",\"Somerville Workers United\"],\"articleSection\":[\"City Council\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238\",\"name\":\"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections - Cambridge Moving Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/909f77a3185c8044f374020fe0d1588c.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-01T15:40:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fd5ad832d9b2ddb71a83fd908922373\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/909f77a3185c8044f374020fe0d1588c.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/909f77a3185c8044f374020fe0d1588c.png\",\"width\":1708,\"height\":958},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?p=238#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cambridge Moving Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fd5ad832d9b2ddb71a83fd908922373\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cambridgemovinghub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections - Cambridge Moving Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections - Cambridge Moving Hub","og_description":"Nearly a week after layoffs roiled city hall, the Somerville City Council passed resolutions to recognize the new Somerville Workers United (SWU) union and strengthen sanctuary city protections, among other business. Read more Encouraged by climate change innovation funding The SWU vote was the first of three resolutions at the council\u2019s May 28 meeting addressing [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238","og_site_name":"Cambridge Moving Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-01T15:40:28+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5fd5ad832d9b2ddb71a83fd908922373"},"headline":"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections","datePublished":"2026-06-01T15:40:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238"},"wordCount":979,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/909f77a3185c8044f374020fe0d1588c.png","keywords":["Somerville City Council","Somerville Workers United"],"articleSection":["City Council"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238","url":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238","name":"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections - Cambridge Moving Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/909f77a3185c8044f374020fe0d1588c.png","datePublished":"2026-06-01T15:40:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5fd5ad832d9b2ddb71a83fd908922373"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/909f77a3185c8044f374020fe0d1588c.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/909f77a3185c8044f374020fe0d1588c.png","width":1708,"height":958},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?p=238#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Somerville City Council passes resolutions to recognize new union, strengthen sanctuary city protections"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/","name":"Cambridge Moving Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5fd5ad832d9b2ddb71a83fd908922373","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cambridgemovinghub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}