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Unions, city employees press South Gate City Council over stalled contract talks; closed session held with no reportable action
Summary
Representatives of multiple city bargaining units and dozens of city employees urged the City Council to resume good-faith bargaining and preserve employee benefits, saying recruitment and retention are already strained. Council held closed-session labor negotiations and a city manager evaluation but reported no actions afterward.
Representatives of the South Gate Municipal Employee Association and allied bargaining units told the City Council on Aug. 26 that protracted contract talks and offers that would cap benefits are driving resignations and harming services.
The message came during public comment before a closed session on conference with labor negotiators. A coalition letter read at the podium said, in part, “We will not accept a narrative or a proposal that attempts to place the burden of the city's financial deficit on the shoulders of its workforce.” The statement was presented on behalf of the Municipal Employee Association (MEA), Police Officers Association (POA), Police Management Association (PMA) and Professional Mid-Management Association (PMMA).
The council later met in closed session under Government Code section 54957.6 to discuss labor negotiations and under Government Code section 54957 to consider the evaluation of a public employee (city manager). When the council returned, city staff reported “no actions to report out.”
Why it matters: public-safety and maintenance services depend on filled positions. Speakers at the meeting repeatedly tied staffing shortages to the quality of city services and urged the council to avoid proposals that reduce take-home pay or cap medical coverage.
City employees and union leaders described a long-running retention problem. Lisa Bautista, identified in public comment as a 39-year South Gate employee and one of the city’s most senior 9-1-1 dispatchers, said dispatcher staffing fell from 10 full-time positions a year ago to six today — “we're now working with 40% of our workforce,” she said — and called current proposals effectively a pay cut. Several other employees and union leaders described similar recruitment and retention pressures across departments.
Speakers also criticized delays in bargaining. The union coalition’s letter and subsequent public comments said the city repeatedly postponed sessions and that that delay effort amounted to bad-faith bargaining. Charles Leon, regional coordinator with SEIU Local 721, said the city had taken months to respond and that vacancy data showed roughly 1 in 5 municipal positions were vacant in the MEA unit.
Council and staff responses were procedural in this meeting: the city clerk read the closed-session items required by law, the council heard public comments, went into closed session, and later reported no actions. The clerk also summarized emailed public comments: 24 emails were received on the labor item, with 15 supporting employees, one opposing, and several anonymous submissions from residents and employees raising concerns about proposed benefit caps.
Several speakers urged alternatives to cuts. Kelly Guzman and other speakers who identified themselves as long-term city residents and employees said that if the city must raise revenue — for example, by a utility users tax — it should earmark some proceeds for visible, local improvements such as parks and street beautification.
The meeting closed with no formal vote on labor terms. The council did not announce any direction or tentative agreements in public after the closed session.
Ending: Union leaders said they would continue public outreach and urged the council to return to bargaining with offers that protect employee pay and benefits while addressing the city's structural budget issues.
