From left, City of Long Beach Unit 3rd Vice President Jacoby Thomas holds a plaque recognizing him as the unit’s 2023 Officer of the Year, which was presented to him by City of Long Beach Unit President John Mooney. (Photo provided by John Mooney.)
LONG BEACH — When CSEA City of Long Beach Unit Shop Steward Jacoby Thomas was a child, he and his mother would go for walks on the city’s boardwalk, where he watched city sanitation workers drive by.
Thomas would point to the workers and say to his mother, “I want to do that when I grow up.”
Decades later, Thomas is driving the vehicles that he admired as a child. He noted that he “feels like an adopted kid” who has never felt as “happy and as loved” as he has being a part of his CSEA family.
Thomas first worked for the city as a freelancer before leaving the job to work on his skillset, in hopes of returning to city employment in the future and securing a better, more permanent position.
During his time away, Thomas studied under a plumber and an electrician. When the time was right, he was hired as a part-time city employee. Thomas also helped organize the Long Beach Part-Time Unit in 2022 and eventually served as the unit president.
After much hard work and his CSEA family negotiating on his behalf, Thomas was hired as a full-time worker, something Thomas calls a life-changing moment.
“I always wanted to be a CSEA member because I knew what it would mean for my family,” said Thomas. “Where I grew up, people aren’t expected to amount to much. I knew that I wanted more for myself and my family. What better place is there to be someone who can provide for my children and be someone that they can look up to than here, as a CSEA member?”
As someone who grew up in Long Beach, Thomas wants to give back to his community by helping others. His new role as shop steward has helped him do just that.
From left to right, City of Long Beach Part-Time Unit members Jacoby Thomas and Winsome Parchment discuss the benefits of union membership with CSEA City of Long Beach Unit President John Mooney in this 2022 file photo.
In his position, Thomas encouraged unit representatives to negotiate bereavement leave for part-time workers and has been available to his colleagues when they are in need of encouragement or counsel.
“My entire life, I’ve been told that I’m weak because I like to help people,” said Thomas. “They obviously don’t know what they’re talking about because look at me now. I’m financially better off and I’m part of a union family that helps me, while I simultaneously help others.”
The financial boost has enabled Thomas to pay for his daughter’s college tuition and room and board, as well as inspire his son, who was starting to give up on his own dreams.
Thomas has come a long way since he was interviewed for The Work Force in 2022 about being an activist in CSEA’s then newly-organized City of Long Beach Part-Time Unit.
At the time, Thomas said, “One of these days, I want to be like John [Mooney] and become an activist.”
Almost two years later, Thomas is a full-time worker, a shop steward and has recently been named 3rd Vice President of his unit.
With hard work, dedication and the support of our union, Thomas noted that his dreams have come true.
— Wendi Bowie
