San Jose city council approves labor deal over Mayor Mahan's objection
A new labor deal passed by the San Jose City Council is exacerbating the city's budget challenges.
The city council on Tuesday voted 9 to 1 to approve a new labor agreement and wage increases for city employees, with Mayor Matt Mahan being the only no vote.
"I refuse to sign up for and endorse pay raises that are unsustainable and put us in a position of having to lay folks off and having to make reductions in the years ahead," Mahan said in a news conference before the vote.
The city was considering cuts to crossing guards and cutting the number of days of the bike- and pedestrian-friendly Viva Calle from three to two to help pay for the salary increases.
After a long discussion on the dais, the council voted to cut mayor and council budgets and eliminate some vacant positions to save money and avoid cuts to services.
The mayor said the city council-supported wage increases would throw a wrench into what was a balanced budget and that he supported a lesser increase for workers.
"What I'm trying to do is reflect the sentiment of the community and strike a balance between paying our employees well and maintaining service levels," said Mahan.
The mayor and its unions have been battling all year on a new contract.
This summer, union employees threatened to strike citing increased workloads, staffing shortages and low wages for such an expensive place to live.
One city zookeeper decided to live in her van in an employee parking lot because she could hardly afford an apartment.
"I think the city of San Jose is big enough to have services and pay staff a livable wage," said union executive Debra Grabelle. "I don't think it's an either/or, I think it's an and/and."
The employee union says its study of the city budget shows San Jose could do the pay increase without program cuts.
"The mayor's operating under false numbers and is choosing to emphasize politics of division instead of supporting the staff who work hard supporting San Jose," Grabelle said.