Some janitors at Oakland International Airport pulled in $200,000 or more in a single year, payroll records show, including eight who out-earned Oakland's own mayor in 2023. That eyebrow-raising pay came under scrutiny after accusations that managers were steering the most lucrative overtime shifts to favored workers, and that some employees were paying kickbacks to get them. An outside investigation has now delivered its verdict: favoritism, yes. Kickbacks, no.
The findings come from an 82-page report prepared by the Municipal Resource Group, which the Port of Oakland hired after the custodians' union, SEIU 1021, filed a formal grievance, according to The Oaklandside. The Port of Oakland operates the airport under a governing board appointed by the mayor and city council, and the paper reports the port's labor relations manager, Pamela Trawick, told the union on February 21, 2025 that an outside investigator had been secured, asking SEIU 1021 to pause its grievance while the review proceeded. That pause meant much of the grievance process, and how it was ultimately resolved, was never publicly documented, per the same account.
How the Complaints Started
Complaints about how overtime was being handed out first started cropping up in June 2024, the outlet notes. SEIU 1021 filed its grievance on February 19, 2025, alleging that managers were rigging the process by steering lucrative overtime shifts to favored workers while others were systematically passed over, and the union asked for compensation for the overlooked custodians along with removal of the supervisors responsible. The union also alleged that some favored workers paid kickbacks to managers in exchange for overtime, though the report notes the union's accounts of cash, meals, travel, flights, and rental cars allegedly exchanged for shifts were often secondhand.
The investigation concluded the kickback allegations lacked credible evidence, while finding that most other alleged examples of favoritism were not substantiated. But the report did sustain some complaints: inconsistent overtime-distribution practices created inequitable treatment of custodians, and favoritism did influence how some shifts were allocated, the document found. The report ultimately concluded that a lack of written standard procedure led to both possible and actual unintentional inequities in how overtime got handed out.
The union contract in force during the dispute already set a baseline: overtime was to be distributed “as equally as possible” through a voluntary rotation, with Facilities employees moving to a list that tracked hours worked or declined once the seniority rotation was exhausted. The agreement also says classification seniority applies to overtime distribution. The finding that inconsistent practices produced inequity therefore points to an implementation problem against an existing negotiated framework, rather than an absence of any contractual rule. The Port-SEIU labor agreement spells out those requirements.
Pay Records Draw Scrutiny
The numbers behind the allegations are striking on their own. Airport custodians collectively drew more than $2 million in overtime annually for three straight years, and in 2023 the highest overtime earner averaged 74 work hours a week, according to timecards cited by the outlet.
The contract also provides a staffing backdrop: it lists 71 custodial shift-and-work-area bid lines for calendar year 2023, compared with a benchmark of 84 lines in fiscal year 2005-06. It allows the Port to use overtime to cover custodial absences or vacancies and provides for an annual bid process. Those terms do not explain why particular employees accumulated the most overtime, but they show that the agreement anticipated overtime filling coverage gaps as well as setting rules for distributing available shifts. The agreement’s custodial and overtime provisions set out those details.
Separately, terminal services supervisor Kimberly Moses said she did nothing wrong, describing the airport's overtime records as handwritten call sheets and codes kept in a binder.
Port Response and Oversight Questions
Port Communications Director Justin Berton said the sustained findings were isolated and that the port is taking action to discipline the individual involved, per the outlet's reporting. The port says it has already made changes to its overtime system meant to ensure fair distribution going forward under the custodian union's contract.
Not everyone is satisfied with how the matter was handled. Joey Friedman, a former SEIU 1021 Port of Oakland chapter president, said he believes the investigation was steered by the port and that its results do not tell the whole story. Oakland City Auditor Michael Houston has said it might be time for his office to audit the port, asking what assurance the city has that adequate controls are in place. The port and SEIU 1021 say they will continue working together on overtime allocation going forward.
Oakland’s oversight structure gives elected officials a role in appointments but leaves Port management with a separate board. The City Charter vests the Port’s exclusive control and management in seven commissioners nominated by the mayor and appointed by the City Council, serving four-year terms. That arrangement helps explain the distinction in the city auditor’s question: the mayor and council choose commissioners, while the commission governs the Port. The Port’s strategic plan describes the board’s charter-based authority and appointment structure.
Budget Pressures Ahead
The scrutiny arrives as the airport's finances tighten. Passenger traffic fell nearly 15% from December 2024 to December 2025, and the airport is projecting $209 million in operating revenue against expenses that would leave a $47 million deficit, according to port data cited by the outlet. The port's board has approved the airport budget unanimously for four straight years.
