St. Paul labor relations office outlines bargaining process, civil service changes and timeline for dozens of contracts

Jason Schmidt, deputy director of talent and equity and the city’s labor relations manager, told the St. Paul Finance & Budget Committee on Monday that the city is about 98% unionized, with 25 unions consolidated into 22 contracts and multiple contract windows opening this year and next.

Schmidt said the City Charter (chapter 23) assigns day‑to‑day labor relations functions to the mayor and that the council’s role is to approve collective bargaining agreements, memorandums of understanding and wage rates by resolution (two readings). He outlined the state Public Employees Labor Relations Act (PELRA), the role of interest arbitration for essential units and the Bureau of Mediation Services’ role in helping parties reach agreement.

The presentation was meant to explain how contracts are opened, negotiated and ratified and to signal how council members can expect to see and engage with labor items on future agendas. Chair Yang and several council members asked for more timely briefings and a calendar showing when bargaining windows and approvals will reach the council.

Why this matters: St. Paul’s workforce and its contracts affect city operations and the budget. Large, citywide pattern agreements can set pay and benefits across departments; arbitration or strikes pose operational and fiscal risks.

Schmidt described the bargaining timetable and key mechanics. Under PELRA, unions must request to open negotiations during a 120‑ to 60‑day “open window” before contract expiration. Negotiations typically begin in late summer or early fall. Bargaining teams exchange formal proposals and concessions until a tentative agreement is reached, after which union membership votes to ratify. If no tentative agreement is reached, the parties can use the Bureau of Mediation Services to mediate; essential units may proceed to interest arbitration, which Schmidt described as a last resort because the arbitrator’s decision is binding.

On the city’s current status, Schmidt said St. Paul is ‘‘heavily unionized’’ and that the city typically negotiates one‑ to three‑year agreements (city preference is three years for stability). He said five trades contracts were opening at the end of the month, and 12 of 13 traditional unions would open at the end of the year; police were noted as settled through 2026 on a different schedule because of a past arbitration.

Schmidt discussed differences between ‘‘trades’’ contracts (where the city often pays an outside, packaged rate for labor and benefits to a union fund) and ‘‘traditional’’ public‑sector units (such as AFSCME, police and fire) where the city negotiates wages, health contributions, shift differentials and other terms directly. He said the city uses pattern bargaining—once a settlement pattern forms, it tends to guide other settlements—while also noting arbitrators may look at comparables such as Minneapolis, Ramsey County and state rates.

On recruitment and classification, Schmidt said the city has hired an outside firm to conduct a market study of selected positions to identify where pay is out of alignment with the market. He also said the city’s civil service rules, which date from about 1914, have not been fully updated and are not sufficiently responsive to today’s labor market. Schmidt said staff are near completion of proposed civil service rule changes, that the council must approve any rule changes, and that unions will be given notice and consulted as the city develops proposals.

Committee members asked several procedural and policy questions. Council members said they want more staff briefings before contract approvals, called for agenda materials that highlight bargaining outcomes and budget impacts, and asked for a calendar of contract timelines. Council President Neeker and other members said contract approvals that appear on consent can nonetheless have significant budget implications and requested short staff summaries when those items are presented to the full council.

Schmidt said the labor relations team can provide a status document listing each contract’s timing and that staff typically coordinate bargaining strategy with departmental directors and the mayor’s office. Director Tony Newborn and negotiator Christy Harriman, who joined Schmidt for the presentation, urged an early conversation between the council and the mayor about how the council wants to receive information and participate informally—while reaffirming that the mayor’s office directs day‑to‑day bargaining strategy under the charter.

The committee also briefly discussed agenda item 11, a memorandum of agreement to pilot an equitable language compensation premium; Schmidt said a memorandum of agreement (MOA or MOU) typically varies terms of an existing collective bargaining agreement and is a binding agreement between the parties. Chair Yang asked staff to check whether someone was available that day to explain item 11 in more detail.

The briefing closed with staff agreeing to provide the council a contract status timeline and to schedule follow‑up briefings on civil service rule changes and upcoming bargaining windows. No formal votes or contract approvals occurred in the committee meeting.

Ending: Committee members said they want more advance notice and digestible summaries before contract items reach the full council; staff committed to providing the council with a timeline and to coordinate further briefings.