Fremont labor unions blast city for letting contracts expire with no deal
All nine Fremont labor unions say city entered fiscal year without signing a single contract
A budget battle in Fremont is creating tension between organized labor and the city. Nine labor unions representing all City of Fremont union employees, say that it is the first time in history that the city has entered the new fiscal year and allowed all labor contracts to expire with no new deal. The city's spokesperson says the city manger is trying to be fiscally responsible to avoid service cuts. The city sayst lower property taxes from high interest rates, and the uncertainty over the Trump administration's tariffs has impacted expected revenue and created uncertainty over the economy's stability.
FREMONT, CA - The city of Fremont is embroiled in a budget battle, with all nine labor unions entering the new fiscal year without a single union contract signed for the first time in the city's history.
"I've been in the city for over 31 years. I've never seen this before," said Lyle Travis, president of Operating Engineers Local 3. "We've gotten zero raises before because of COVID and hard times, but we've never come to an impasse before June 30."
Travis, who represents street, building, and vehicle maintenance workers, said the city's only offer before the end of the year was a one-year contract proposal with no raise.
Fremont labor unions' concerns
What they're saying:
The unions responded with social media posts last week alerting the public, which they say prompted the city manager to return with a slightly higher offer.
"Being offered nothing to start off with and then coming back only after we made a post, it's left a bad taste in our members' mouths," said Jakob Briggs, president of the Professional Engineers and Technicians Association.
"They're feeling disheartened. Very upset," said Annette Ramirez, business agent for Teamsters Local 856. "The employees are not happy. We have our 911 dispatchers on mandatory overtime."
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Police employees are also concerned, saying contracts are needed to maintain staffing levels and prevent burnout, as officers work mandatory overtime.
"That means they're working 15-hour days, or our day shift comes in early, so they're working 15-hour days," said Alexander Gregory, president of the Fremont Police Association. "Our primary concern is retaining officers and hiring new officers."
Kyle Sater, president of Fremont Firefighters IAFF Local 1689, said in a statement that his union members are increasingly frustrated by the stalled labor contract negotiations.
"We stand in full solidarity with all other labor groups serving the citizens of Fremont, advocating for equitable wage increases and a swift resolution to the ongoing contract negotiations," Sater said.
The Fremont Police Association says comparable Bay Area police departments are offering cost-of-living raises that make it hard to compete for candidates, even with Fremont's recent $100,000 bonus for lateral transfers.
"A city like Newark last month signed a 17% raise over three years. Santa Clara as well, last month, signed a 17% raise over four years," Gregory said.
City of Fremont budget concerns
Dig deeper:
"This year's budget did not give us a lot of extra, so we had to reallocate funds from current services and programs in order to balance our budget," said Geneva Bosques, Fremont's director of communications and legislative affairs.
Bosques said the city manager wants to raise wages for the workers but is also concerned about being fiscally conservative and managed to balance a $392 million budget for 2025-26 without dipping into the $6 million rainy day fund.
"Our general fund is heavily on property tax, sales tax. And we are not seeing real estate transactions at the same level we had a lot due to high interest rates," Bosques said.
Bosques said revenues also rely on 900 manufacturing businesses, so the current uncertainty over federal tariffs has caused economic uncertainty about future revenues.
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"Until the economy starts to have that movement again, we're hoping to be stable. We're also hoping to not have to reduce service levels," Bosques said.
The city said the previous police deal that ended June 30 included a 17% raise over three years, with an additional 2% increase provided at the end of last year. The city sent data from its research reports showing Fremont police ranking high for compensation among Bay Area law enforcement agencies.
Bosques said the other unions received a 13% increase over the same three years.
The OE3 union leader said their next meeting is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 9.
The other unions said they are still awaiting dates to return to the table.