Contract Negotiations Resume Between Austin Police Association and City of Austin
AUSTIN, Texas: New Round of Negotiations Begins
On Wednesday, the Austin Police Association and the City of Austin sat down at the negotiation table, marking their first attempt at re-negotiating a labor agreement for city police officers after months of impasse. However, after nearly five hours of talks, the key issue of contention remains to be Proposition A – the police oversight ordinance that was approved by voters last year.
Proposition A: The Hurdle to Cross
The City of Austin’s negotiators clarified that a new labor agreement would be rejected by the city council if the elements of oversight from Proposition A weren’t incorporated into the contract. On the other hand, the police association representatives labeled parts of Proposition A “seriously questionable” and declared that abiding by the ordinance was not their objective.
The public was permitted to observe the negotiations, with a turnout of roughly a dozen people. One of the public spectators, Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition, described the initiation of discussions as a “pretty decent start.”
Reactions to the Negotiations
Moore remained “cautiously optimistic,” as city negotiators pressured the police association to include Proposition A’s conditions in the agreement. “We want to make sure they mean what they say and don’t concede too much, or surrender too much, and truly respect the votes of those who voted for Prop A,” Moore explained.
Provisions of Prop A are currently being legally challenged, with concerns rising about potential conflicts with state law concerning confidential personnel files. Cleo Petricek, a community leader from Save Austin Now, stressed the connection between this ordinance and the city law enforcement shortage. “Police officers do not feel supported. We’ve never had as many vacancies as we do now. We need to pass a contract to boost recruitment and retention,” Petricek said.
An Urgent Call to Action
The Austin Police Department currently has around 350 vacancies, in addition to 150 positions that were struck off from the department roster in 2020. “If the union believes this contract is a way forward to increase staffing levels and keep Austin safer, it would be in their best interest to take necessary actions to include Prop A in this contract,” said Moore.
Other discussions in the negotiation revolved around hiring and promotion practices. The meeting ended at around 3:00 PM and both parties are expected to reconvene on the coming Wednesday, March 20, for further discussions.