CAHOOTS workers say they could face layoffs from White Bird Clinic next month.
Chelsea Swift, a CAHOOTS union representative, said workers learned Friday of potential cuts starting April 7. She told KLCC it wasn’t yet clear how many workers will be let go, or whether the layoffs would mean the end of the groundbreaking mobile crisis intervention service.
Swift said there is a bargaining session scheduled for Friday evening to discuss the issue with White Bird leadership.
"CAHOOTS will fight first and foremost for our program and for our clients, like we always have," said Swift. "But today, we will be also fighting for the dignity and livelihood of workers who will be laid off, and workers who will be staying at the program, if possible."
In an email to KLCC, White Bird's interim executive director Amée Markwardt said the nonprofit wouldn't comment on active negotiations.
CAHOOTS employees are currently working under their first union contract, which was approved last April. It included significant raises for long-serving employees.
Funding concerns
The potential cuts follow White Bird’s December closure of its Front Rooms Department, when the organization cited financial issues. In recent months, the nonprofit has also shared concerns about future funding for CAHOOTS.
The City of Eugene helps support CAHOOTS through the Eugene-Springfield Fire department, but the city is now facing a projected budget shortfall of $11.5 million.
Last month, Eugene City Council passed a fire service fee to help address these gaps. But opponents of the fee have launched an effort to place it on the ballot.
At a meeting in February, City Manager Sarah Medary discussed two routes the city could take if the fire service fee doesn't survive the potential ballot challenge.
Both of these would eliminate Eugene’s contract with CAHOOTS, because of overlap with other services.
"In this case, we have Lane County doing mobile crisis response in a way that we didn't two years ago," said Medary. "So there's actually some viability to that."
In an email to KLCC last month, Markwardt with White Bird said she believed the city would cut CAHOOTS funding even with a fire service fee in place.
KLCC asked city officials about this possibility. Medary wrote in an email that a city budget for next year hasn’t yet been proposed, and won't be released until mid-April.
The city's next budget cycle starts on July 1.
