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Ojai City Council goes into closed session on labor negotiations after trolley driver asks for full-time benefits
Summary
At a special Aug. 12 closed session, the Ojai City Council heard a public comment from a trolley driver asking for full-time benefits and then adjourned to a closed session to provide direction to its labor negotiator on compensation for unrepresented employees. The council approved the meeting agenda by voice vote before the closed session.
The Ojai City Council on Aug. 12 adjourned into closed session to provide direction to the city's labor negotiator on compensation for all unrepresented city employees after a public comment from a trolley driver asking why transit staff are not offered full-time benefits.
Patrick Holmes, a trolley driver, told the council he was hired in October 2024 and began driving Dec. 16. "I want full time benefits, and I wonder why I've never been offered them," Holmes said, adding that he has worked an average of about 36 hours per week and sometimes up to 40. He said health care costs are a heavy burden and that if his wages exceed a certain amount he would lose coverage through Covered California. Holmes also asked why public works employees have historically received full-time benefits while transit drivers have not.
The council approved the meeting agenda in a voice vote recorded as "Aye. Aye." before taking public comment; individual votes were not identified in the transcript. A city staff member then announced the council would adjourn to closed session for a conference with labor negotiators, naming Kathy Holman as the city negotiator and describing the employees at issue as "all unrepresented employees, which is all city employees." The staff member said the council would provide direction to the negotiator but "will not be taking final action on any compensation in closed session," a limitation the transcript records explicitly.
Council members present at roll call were Mayor Gilman, Mayor Pro Tem Lang, Council member Wittman and Council member Meng; Council member Ruhl was absent. Staff told the council there were no raised hands on Zoom beyond the in-person commenter.
The comment from Holmes and the stated subject of the closed session indicate the council discussed employee compensation policy and benefits for the city's transit workers, but the transcript shows no formal decision or vote on compensation during the meeting. The council recessed to closed session for confidential labor negotiations under the procedures it cited and returned to open session afterward.
No ordinance, resolution, contract or budget action was taken on the public record during the portion of the meeting covered by the transcript. The council's next public steps regarding the matter were not specified in the transcript.
