Fresno city employees call off strike, union responds to new contract
Dec 18, 2024
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - The City of Fresno’s white-collar employees called off their strike Wednesday.
The City struck a deal with the Professional Employees Association Tuesday night, sending everyone back to work after striking for less than 24 hours.
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer smiled as he delivered the news, saying he thinks it’s a fair deal for all involved.
“What we came up with yesterday or last night, will meet their needs for the time being, so that we will be able to move forward,” Union President Jesse Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez would not share all the details about the new contract, saying he wants to discuss it with the workers before releasing the information to the public.
What he could share is that, as the city initially proposed, public safety supervisors will receive 3% raises and all other department supervisors will receive 2% raises.
On top of that, all supervisors will receive one-time 1% payments.
The union originally asked the city to give every supervisor a 3% raise, but the city said they could not afford such high raises.
“Our employees are deserving of every penny that they earn, but on the business side of running the city, we have fiscal realities that we have to stay within,” Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White said.
“We have expenditures in the city of Fresno far outpacing that of our revenues… And so it's made it very, very challenging fiscally to be able to meet all of the demands from the labor unions,” Dyer said.
The union’s previous contract ended in January of 2023, so the new contract will only last through June 15, 2025.
Dyer says that means they will have to return to the bargaining table in March.
The union members are set to vote on the deal the second week of January and present it before City Council for final approval on Jan. 9.