The City is aware that 4 bargaining units began voting on August 11, 2026 to authorize a strike.  Those units are AEA, AMSP, and CAMP (collectively IFPTE), and MEF.

The City has engaged in mediation with the parties and has put forward what the City believes is a fair offer that reflect the value the community, the elected officials, and the Administration places on the contributions of our workforce while also recognizing the budgetary limitations that the City faces over the next three years.

As of today, none of the City's workforce is on strike.  This website will be updated as developments occur. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The City commenced negotiations over successor Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) with the following bargaining units on February 2, 2026:

• Association of Engineers and Architects, IFPTE, Local 21 (AEA)
• Association of Maintenance Supervisory Personnel, IFPTE, Local 21 (AMSP)
• City Association of Management Personnel, IFPTE, Local 21 (CAMP)
• Municipal Employees' Federation, AFSCME, Local 101 (MEF)

During this bargaining cycle, the City resolved an ongoing General Fund shortfall of approximately $50 million for Fiscal Year 2026-2027, while projecting additional ongoing General Fund shortfalls of $27 million in Fiscal Year 2027-2028 and $12 million in Fiscal Year 2028-2029.  (Source - Page 3 of the City's 2027-2031 Five Year Forecast.)  Despite these fiscal challenges, the City did not seek economic concessions or a “status quo” rollover contract from its unions, which are typically sought when a jurisdiction is facing a budget deficit. Instead, the City continued to bring forward compensation increase proposals while also seeking ways to address the operational and workplace priorities raised during negotiations.  As part of the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Adopted Budget, the Mayor and City Council made difficult choices to resolve this shortfall, in part through service reductions for the community and the elimination of City positions.

In the context of these ongoing budget shortfalls, and after more than 15 bargaining sessions with each unit, on June 11, 2026 the City provided AEA, AMSP, CAMP, and MEF with Last, Best, and Final Offers (LBFO).  Among other significant economic and non-economic benefits offered to represented employees, these offers included 3.00% wage increases in Fiscal Years 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 for a total 9.00% wage increase.

On June 18, 2026, MEF formally rejected the City's LBFO, and declared impasse.  On June 26, 2026, AEA, AMSP, and CAMP formally rejected the City's LBFOs, and declared impasse.  On June 30, 2026, the MOAs between the City and AEA, the City and AMSP, the City and CAMP, and the City and MEF expired.

On July 6, 2026, the City engaged in mediation with AEA, AMSP, and CAMP.  Between July 10, 2026 and July 24, 2026, the City engaged in four mediation sessions with MEF.  During the mediation sessions the City expressed a willingness to exceed the contents of its LBFOs, but no agreements were reached.  The City's offers included:

• Wages:
  • Fiscal Year 2026-2027 = 3.00% wage increase + 1.00% one-time non-pensionable lump sum payment;
  • Fiscal Year 2027-2028 = 3.00% wage increase;
  • Fiscal Year 2028-2029 = 3.00% wage increase + additional wage increase if the City's General Fund has a surplus;
• Agreement to discuss the conversion of 1.00% of non-pensionable pay to a pensionable pay if the Federated Retirement Plan is 80% funded in Fiscal Year 2028-2029;
• Agreement to provide "Fatigue Pay" to designated classifications;
• Policy revisions to fortify AI guardrails and require human oversight related to decision-making; and
• A comprehensive proposal to integrate City Council staff newly represented by MEF, including discussion of benefits unique to those classifications.