National City public commenters press council for quick, fair labor contract talks as closed session begins

Dozens of residents and city employees urged the National City City Council on Thursday to complete fair, timely labor contract negotiations as the council recessed into a closed session to meet with labor negotiators.

Speakers in the public-comment portion, most of them representing or speaking on behalf of unions and city departments, said the current Memorandum of Understanding covering municipal employees runs through June 30, 2025, and asked the council and negotiators to reach agreement in time for ratification at the council—s June 17 meeting. Frank Rivera, a retired SEIU Local 221 member and former SEIU executive-board member, called on the city to "negotiate fairly and efficiently" and said raises and benefit changes "should be retroactive to 07/01/2025."

The comments repeatedly framed the negotiations as urgent for employees who perform frontline city work. Aliana Delgado, identified as a recreation supervisor and a member of the Municipal Employees Association (MEA), said, "we hope that you value the passionate and dedicated members of your team, especially those of us that are boots on the ground." Mari Karkamaya, a library employee and SEIU member, pressed the council to increase pay and add bilingual pay and educational benefits for part-time staff, saying many positions "don't even meet median salary for other cities."

Several speakers linked the city—s ability to fund employee contracts to recent legal and administrative costs. Michaela Polanco and other commenters said money had been spent on outside counsel and litigation that they argued could have been used for employee compensation. Rania Fortan said an "opportunity to give city employees and laborers more money" was lost because funds were "wasted for 7 months on an ill conceived project" and on outside counsel in a public-records matter. Mike Aguirre, a longtime labor supporter and former union lawyer, urged council members to consider "opportunity cost," saying money spent on unnecessary outside services reduces funds available for employees.

No council vote or public decision on contract terms was recorded in the public portion of the meeting. After public comment the council convened a closed session described by the city attorney as a "conference with labor negotiators." The employee organizations named for that closed session were the Municipal Employees Association, the National City Firefighters Association, the Police Officers Association, and unrepresented groups. The meeting minutes in the transcript show the council entered closed session and later reconvened; the transcript records that a report would be made at the end of the council meeting but no details or outcomes were included in the provided transcript.

Background and context: speakers noted that the current MOU covers a three-and-a-half-year period from January 2022 through June 30, 2025, and that a six-month extension had been applied. Multiple commenters urged retroactivity for any raises to July 1, 2025. Several commenters also raised concerns about city finances and called for reduced outside legal spending so more funds remain available for employee compensation.

The council returned from closed session and adjourned; the transcript indicates a report-out was expected later in the broader council meeting but no report content appears in the provided transcript.