The Birmingham Times
Randall Woodfin is speaking out after Central Alabama Water laid off 135 employees, raising concerns about how the decision impacts both workers and the community.
At a Friday press conference, Woodfin shared a personal story about a recent interaction with an employee who had lost her job. The woman, a mother whose child attends the same school as his son, told the mayor that she and her husband worked for the water board and were both laid off.
“The water works as a utility is not a private sector company. How we treat our employees, how we treat working class people should always be paramount in any decision making,” said Woodfin. “I’m not sure if thought went into these actions.”
The mayor said the conversation stuck with him.
“I personally met and saw the pain, saw the genuine fear in her own eyes of how she and her husband are going to simply take care of their family,” he said.
According to Woodfin, the woman worked in customer service, and nearly her entire department was let go. He said that raises concerns about how residents, especially older adults in Birmingham, will access services, such as paying their water bills in person.
“This public organization — it doesn’t seem they have to answer to anybody,” said Woodfin. “They should be answering to the customers.”
Woodfin also criticized how the layoffs were handled, saying “shame on you” to CAW and questioning whether enough thought was given to the broader impact on both employees and customers.
He went on to raise concerns about water quality, noting that some of the employees responsible for monitoring it were among those laid off.
“If you get rid of the team that’s responsible for managing that, verifying that every day, what are we left with?” asks Woodfin.
