FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The City of Fresno Professional Employees Association (CFPEA) went on strike early Tuesday morning. The CFPEA says they are currently at a contract impasse with the City of Fresno which represents around 400 workers and supervisors across the city. “After over 12 months of negotiations,  the City of Fresno's Last Best Final Offer (LBFO) was rejected by the membership in early December 2024. On Thursday, December 12, 2024, the City was notified that the CFPEA will be striking Tuesday,” said the CFPEA. Union President Jesse Gonzalez says the plan is to make ourselves present and try to send a message to City Hall. “So we're out of here because my people are looking to get a fair and equitable contract. Some of the issues are monetary. Others have to do with working conditions that the city just isn't willing to talk about” said Gonzalez. There will be bus and garbage services and it's unknown how they will be impacted, says Gonzalez. Fresno's Mayor Jerry Dyer and City Manager Georgeanne White issued a response to the strike on Tuesday afternoon, stating that the city has a fiscal responsibility to its residents and balance fair compensation against what the city can afford. "We would always like to pay our employees more, but the simple fact is sometimes we cannot afford to - especially during times when we're having fiscal challenges as is the case this year and will be the case over the next couple of years." You can watch the mayor's and the city manager's comments in the video player above.