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National City firefighters present pay proposal ahead of closed-door labor talks
Summary
Jeremy Day, president of the National City Firefighters, presented a pay proposal to the City Council and urged agreement; the council recessed into closed session to discuss a workers' compensation claim and labor negotiations and said it would report out later.
Jeremy Day, president of the National City Firefighters, told the National City City Council that the union submitted a proposal the council would consider in closed session and urged negotiators to reach an agreement.
"We were very intentional with looking at the surveys and ensuring there was an equitable increase across the ranks," Day said, adding that the union reduced a proposed 4.5 percent step for battalion chief to 4 percent "because that makes it fair for all ranks." He said the step would be merit- and time-based and that the proposal was intended to bring employees toward the average pay while preserving equity across positions.
The remarks came during the meeting's public-comment period. After Day spoke, a resident criticized the council's public messaging on city reserves and questioned how the city would fund labor agreements. "Rodriguez throws around the phrase healthy $51,000,000 reserve like it really means something," the resident said, adding that "there's a $4,800,000 unassigned reserve" and asking whether the city planned to raise taxes, cut services, or use reserves to pay new commitments.
Mayor Morrison then announced the council would move into a closed session. The city attorney read two closed-session items: 5.1, a workers' compensation claim (claim number 24180196), identified as Derek Jones v. City of National City Fire Department; and 5.2, a conference with labor negotiators involving MEA, firefighters, the police officers association and unrepresented groups. The council recessed to closed session to discuss those items and said it would report out at the end of the meeting.
No formal vote or public action on the labor proposal or the workers' compensation claim was recorded in open session during the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript. The council's next procedural step, according to remarks on the record, was to conclude closed session and return to the open meeting for any report-out before adjournment.
