Deadlocked on oversight, city and police union pause contract negotiations

After nearly nine months of negotiation sessions, the city of Austin halted bargaining with the Austin Police Association Thursday, citing disagreement about civilian oversight of police and raising questions about whether the two sides will agree to a new labor contract before the current one expires at the end of March. 

Sarah Griffin, the city’s deputy labor relations officer, canceled two upcoming negotiation sessions scheduled for later this month and said the city would return to the bargaining table when APA is ready to consider removing the Office of Police Oversight from the contract. 

“This is a line in the sand for us,” she told the union’s bargaining team. 

Since last March, the city has pushed for removing OPO from the contract, so it’s no longer subject to bargaining, and to expand its authority, including the ability to participate more fully in investigations of officer misconduct. 

APA has repeatedly pushed back, saying the city’s demands diverge from the current contract and transform OPO from an oversight body into an investigatory one. 

Ron DeLord, an outside attorney for APA, was more explicit, saying the union wouldn’t agree to a contract that removes OPO and leaves its authority to an in-progress local ordinance, which he argued could be amended by City Council after its passage. 

“(D)on’t ask us to waive (rights), which we have given to us by the state legislature, so you can go do something that we don’t know what you’re going to do,” he said. 

Despite this impasse, both bargaining teams lamented the possibility of falling out of contract. 

APA President Thomas Villarreal worried this contingency would exacerbate the police department’s long-standing staffing shortages.

“The citizens of this town get a better product when we’re under contract,” he said. “The police department is falling apart right now, and it will continue to fall apart when we fall out of contract.”

Griffin agreed.

“We are trying to make something that will work for OPO, for the citizens, for the officers,” she said. “We don’t want to be out of contract either.”

As recently as last month, the city was pushing to reach an expedited agreement. The Austin Chronicle reported Nov. 11 that City Manager Spencer Cronk wanted to reach a deal before the new mayor and Council members take office on Jan. 8, which now seems unlikely. 

Further complicating matters, Austin voters will decide in May whether to pass the Austin Police Oversight Act, an initiative petition spearheaded by Equity Action ATX that would remove OPO from future labor contracts, grant the office access to any police records it requires, and expand its authority to recommend disciplinary action in cases of police misconduct, among other changes. 

Chris Harris, president of Equity Action and policy director of the Austin Justice Coalition, previously told the Monitor he hopes Council will wait to approve a new four-year contract until after the May election. Otherwise, voters could pass the act but have to wait until the new contract expires to see it take effect.

“We understand that a new long-term contract will thwart the will of the voters on this issue for years,” he said. “Unless a long-term contract is put in front of the Council that overwhelmingly mirrors the ballot measure, the Council shouldn’t vote for it.” 

Before the breakdown in negotiations, the two bargaining teams had made progress on oversight and pay. On Wednesday, APA proposed a collaborative model in which OPO and APD’s Internal Affairs Unit would investigate allegations of police misconduct together. Earlier in the meeting Thursday, the city updated its pay proposal to a 12 percent raise over four years, up from 10 percent previously and closer to APA’s demand for 20 percent. 

In a follow-up statement, a city spokesperson expressed hope that the two sides could reach an agreement before the current contract expires.

“The city manager is confident that the parties will come to an agreement on a sound labor contract, which will be key to recruiting and retaining the top-quality police officers we need to keep our community safe, and to building the community-focused, equity-oriented police department to which we’re committed,” it read. 

APA’s own statement struck a different tone. 

“Cronk wants to weaponize a system that makes officers political pawns,” APA wrote in a tweet on Thursday. “We continue to work while the city walks away.” 

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