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City workers and organizers press council to fix pay compression and start collective bargaining process
Summary
City employees and organizers described years of pay compression that leave long-tenured workers without meaningful raises and urged council to pursue a step-pay plan and processes to implement municipal collective bargaining.
Several current and former city employees spoke in favor of pay adjustments and collective bargaining during the public hearing on the FY26 budget.
Dante Joy, speaking as a current employee representing city workers, said hundreds of municipal employees signed a petition asking council to address pay compression and to move forward with a process for collective bargaining similar to neighboring communities. "We are losing valuable, talented senior workers," Joy said, urging the city to consider a step pay plan.
Robert Brown, who said he recently worked for the city and then transitioned to organizing, described pay compression where long-serving employees and newer hires earn nearly the same wages and said the disparity undermines retention.
Roman Grant, a public-works representative, thanked the council for a prior 3% increase and said passing the proposed budget would help the city remain competitive and retain staff, citing public-works responses to storms and other core services.
Speakers requested meetings with council members and provided contact information for follow-up. No formal action was taken during the hearing; the labor and pay issues will be part of budget deliberations and internal personnel policy discussions.
