Averting a strike that would have disrupted services in Northern California’s largest city, unions representing over half of San Jose’s administrative workforce on Monday reached a tentative deal with city leaders.
The strike would have been the largest such action among San Jose city’s employees since 1981 and comes during a moment marked by increased labor activity throughout the South Bay.
Details of the deal between the city and the unions — which represent around 4,500 workers — were not immediately made public, but could include a bump in yearly salary raises until 2026, a demand that workers have been pushing for months.
If a deal hadn’t been reached, employees who staff the city’s parks, libraries, airport and other departments were set to walk off the job starting on Tuesday for three days — an action that would have almost certainly been felt by San Jose residents.
The contract still needs approval from the San Jose City Council on Tuesday. Workers will also vote to approve the deal on a date yet to be determined, according to a union spokesperson.
“The conceptual agreement being discussed today reflects the commitment of city workers to invest in solutions that make San Jose a better place to work and live,” wrote Jean Cohen, executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council, the organization that oversees dozens of unions in the region. “I’m hopeful our elected leaders will find a resolution tomorrow so we avoid a strike.”
The unions, MEF-AFSCME Local 101 and IFPTE Local 21, made “substantial progress” with the city over the weekend and into Monday afternoon, according to a joint statement from the unions, which told employees to go to work on Tuesday. The unions clarified the strike would be suspended, pending City Council approval.
San Jose employees ramped up pressure for better pay after their contract ended in June, arguing that city departments are inadequately staffed and morale is low among workers in one of the highest cost-of-living metropolitan areas in the country.
City officials — most prominently Mayor Matt Mahan — have denied these claims and voiced concerns over how the extra pay demands may impact a city budget that has historically been tight. According to the city’s estimates from last week, the unions’ proposed pay increase would cost $23.9 million per year. Though San Jose is currently facing a small budget surplus, city officials expect deficits in coming years, a financial situation that could be further challenged by worker pay increases.
“While I support substantial raises for our workers, I will be paying close attention to the Budget Office’s projected fiscal impact before voting on the proposal,” Mahan said in a Monday statement. “Signing up for tens of millions of dollars in projected deficits and, therefore, likely future service cuts and layoffs wouldn’t be fair to city workers or residents. I won’t vote for something today that’s going to hurt us tomorrow.”
The threat of a mass walkout was initiated earlier this month when union workers overwhelmingly approved a three-day strike.
The union demands had the support of city councilmembers, including pro-labor member Peter Ortiz, as well as Assemblymembers Alex Lee and Ash Kalra.
“It has been challenging. There have been ups and downs,” said Jesse Perez, a member of IFPTE Local 21’s bargaining team. “But I’m optimistic that we’re at a good spot here. We made some progress. I’m hopeful the city will do the right thing.”
The city’s last major strike occurred over four decades ago in response to equal pay for women employees. The strike lasted nine days and drew national attention — and ended with the city approving over a million dollars in pay adjustments for the women employees. In 2007, a small group of building inspectors went on strike over negotiations regarding disciplinary rules. Today, the city has about 7,000 workers.
In late July, over 12,000 Santa Clara County workers were able to avoid a strike and secure the largest wage increases in more than two decades. SEIU Local 521, which represents 911 dispatchers, social workers and hospital staff, voted to approve a strike starting in mid-June. In addition to the wage increase, the deal included a $1,200 one-time payment along with equity raises. Jobs that weren’t considered competitive in the market also saw wage bumps in an attempt to combat staffing shortages and help with recruitment.