Oakland city workers - with the exception of police, fire and other emergency services workers - will go on a one-day strike Monday, saying they have been bearing the burden of the city's budget problems for far too long.

At a news conference Friday outside Oakland City Hall, Pete Castelli, executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 1021, called the labor action historic, noting that it's the first general strike by Oakland city workers since 1946.

The labor action is in response to employers who "want to restructure what they're calling an unfunded liability," Castelli said. "That unfunded liability, in their eyes, is us, our workers. We're not unfunded liability. We're the reason there are communities, the reason there are services. We're the people who make a community exist."

Castelli said the city has been "engaged in playing games with their budget."

In a statement, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said city officials are "continuing to do everything we can to accelerate negotiations and avert a strike. We are willing to negotiate through the weekend, day or night, because we know there is a fair-share agreement to be made."

Quan apologized in advance to residents "for any inconvenience that possible service impacts might cause you." She noted, however, that her administration "will always respect our employees' right to lawfully strike."

Monday's strike - and the potential walkout by BART and AC Transit employees that same day- will come a day after city union contracts expire. City workers say they are upset that furloughs and other measures have cut their pay by 25 percent over the past five years and blasted the city for what they called 15 weeks of unfruitful negotiations.

Castelli said the strike will happen regardless of whether BART employees walk off the job or reach an agreement with the transit agency's management. BART employees are also represented by Castelli's union.

Employees with public works, parks and recreation, libraries, after-school programs and parking enforcement will be among the 2,500 workers who will walk off the job, union officials said. The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21 is also calling for a one-day strike.

"All of them, other than emergency and essential services" such as police and fire, Castelli said. "It's a workers' holiday."

To cheers, Castelli said the strike will send a message that "the working class in Northern California are mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore."

Dwight McElroy, 28-year public works employee and Oakland chapter president of SEIU Local 1021, said, "I'm extremely tired of a workplace that I no longer recognize. We did not choose to go on strike. We're forced to be on strike."

At the end of the news conference, city workers chanted, "Strike!" and "Enough is enough!

Castelli said both sides are "very far" apart but will resume negotiations July 9. "A deal is not imminent with the city of Oakland."