![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/260512-WORLDCUPFLAG-TV-01750-KQED.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe city will enter mediation with unions representing librarians, code inspectors and architects after two labor contracts expired. Without a deal, the unions could take a strike vote.<\/p>\n
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San Jos\u00e9 City Hall in San Jos\u00e9 on May 12, 2026. City officials contend that with ongoing budget deficits, they are unable to offer more than a 3% annual raise in each of the next three fiscal years.\u00a0(T\u00e2m V\u0169\/KQED)<\/p>\n
Just three years after disagreements over pay nearly led<\/a> to a historic work stoppage, contracts with the unions representing more than 3,000 city workers expired on June 30.<\/p>\n City officials contend that with ongoing budget deficits, they are unable to offer more than a 3% annual raise in each of the next three fiscal years \u2014 an increase union leaders argue would leave workers unable to keep pace with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n \u201cWe tried to put across proposals that were reasonable but also recognized that it\u2019s an expensive place to live in the Bay Area,\u201d said Charles Allen, union representative for MEF. \u201cThe costs that city employees incur \u2014 increased gas prices, increased food prices, just generally increases all around \u2014 were not really addressed by the city\u2019s proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n MEF and IFPTE countered the city\u2019s offer with a proposed wage hike of 4% in the current fiscal year, followed by 4.5% in 2027-28 and 5.5% in 2028-29.<\/p>\n Allen said his union\u2019s members have not yet taken a vote to authorize a potential strike, but are discussing the possibility.<\/p>\n \u201cWe obviously remain optimistic that mediation might be able to get us to where we need to be, but at this point we\u2019re out of contract,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce we\u2019ve gone through the process, then the membership does have the ability to take a strike vote and in fact go on strike.\u201d<\/p>\n A work stoppage could limit library services, summer activities and permit processing in a city that is already one of the most thinly staffed in California. A Mercury News analysis<\/a> in 2024 found San Jos\u00e9 has 112 residents per city employee; among California\u2019s 10 largest cities, only Bakersfield has a lower staffing ratio.<\/p>\n San Jos\u00e9 Mayor Matt Mahan said the city has little flexibility to offer higher wages after recently approving a budget<\/a> that closed a $50.3 million shortfall by tapping reserves and cutting more than a dozen positions.<\/p>\n City budget analysts are projecting an ongoing shortfall of $26.8 million in 2027-28 and $11.8 million in 2028-29.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city is offering a fair deal,\u201d Mahan said. \u201cTo go any higher than a 3% raise over the next three years, we would have to make significant service cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n While negotiations are being led by the Office of Employee Relations, which reports to the city manager, any tentative agreement will need to be approved by the City Council.<\/p>\n In 2023, Mahan was the lone vote on the council against new contracts for MEF and IFPTE \u2014 arguing that the wage hikes<\/a> of 14.5% over three years were beyond<\/a> what the city could afford.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the council has just been through a difficult budget cycle where some of the members of the council were expressing a little bit of regret in private over deals that I pointed out three years ago were likely to set us up for service cuts,\u201d Mahan said. \u201cTo do that again in this moment would be a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond wages, the unions and city remain apart on the use of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n Under an MEF proposal submitted in March, the city would be barred from using technological systems \u201cfor the purpose of eliminating bargaining unit work\u201d and from using AI \u201cfor new programs, positions or functions that could replace future new bargaining unit positions.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s counterproposal offered the consideration of training and reassignment prior to layoffs, in cases \u201cwhere artificial intelligence will result in workforce reductions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The city will enter mediation with unions representing librarians, code inspectors and architects after two labor contracts expired.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[88,90,89],"class_list":["post-388033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/260122-SJPDSHOOT-JG-5_qed.jpg\")
The intersection of Julian Street and Notre Dame Avenue in downtown San Jos\u00e9 was still blocked off on the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Joseph Geha\/KQED)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/250725-SJPOWER-JG-8_qed.jpg\")
San Jos\u00e9 Mayor Matt Mahan speaks during a July 25, 2025 press conference in North San Jos\u00e9 about a partnership with PG&E intended to attract more data center development to the city. (Joseph Geha\/KQED)<\/p>\n