City, police union resume bargaining over long-term police labor contract

After more than a yearlong hiatus, the city and the Austin Police Association (APA) resumed long-term police labor contract negotiations on Wednesday. But it remains to be seen whether the two bargaining teams will be able to reach an agreement that complies with the Austin Police Oversight Act (APOA), a condition of City Council approval and city attorney certification.  

“We actually think that is the subject of the day and, as soon as we possibly can, we want to see what your vision is to achieve that result because we can’t do anything unless we do,” Lowell Denton, an outside attorney for the city, told APA’s bargaining team.  

Citing legal analysis by the city attorney, Denton said any tentative agreement must make public what’s called police officers’ “G file,” which includes any allegations of misconduct that have been found to be unwarranted or that have resulted in any disciplinary action short of a suspension of at least one day. Among other provisions, the agreement must also double the time period in which an officer can be investigated and disciplined for misconduct from 180 days to 365 days. 

Despite returning to the negotiating table, Ron DeLord, an outside attorney for the police union, expressed resistance to this framework.

“It’s not our objective to be in compliance with (the Austin Police Oversight Act),” he said. 

Later, however, after Denton raised concerns about this approach, DeLord suggested the possibility for middle ground.

“We’re prepared to bargain over all of these things, and there may be paths (through) which we can reach an agreement,” he said, specifically mentioning a potential “carve out” that would protect officers from “false charges and things that invade their privacy or puts them at risk or danger” stemming from the G file being made public. 

This disagreement over civilian oversight dates back over several contracts. The bargaining teams reached a tentative four-year agreement early last year, but Council declined to vote on it, instead signaling its preference for a one-year extension of the previous contract, citing the May 2023 election, which included two opposing propositions related to police accountability. With APA refusing to return to the negotiating table, Council instead approved an ordinance preserving officer pay and benefits in the absence of a new contract or extension. 

In May, voters overwhelmingly approved the APOA, which strengthens civilian oversight of the Austin Police Department. More recently, Equity Action, which spearheaded the ballot proposition, sued the city for failing to implement certain elements of the law. Council also extended the ordinance preserving officer pay and benefits and directed city staff, controversially, to offer bonuses to officers in a bid to incentivize APA to bargain. 

Until recently, APA President Michael Bullock vowed not to return to the negotiating table until the Equity Action lawsuit was resolved, as the Austin Monitor previously reported. But he expressed optimism for a fruitful bargaining process in a recent joint press release with the city, announcing the resumption of negotiations, despite the ongoing legal action. 

“I’m encouraged by the progress we’re making and hope that we will be able to move through this process in a way that benefits all involved, most of all the community we serve,” he said in the March 6 statement. 

During Wednesday’s meeting, the bargaining teams discussed ground rules. Denton said that the city had agreed to two requests from APA, including lifting a ban on communicating with elected officials during the negotiation process and keeping private any draft agreements and related documents pending Council approval – a departure from previous contracts. 

Police reform advocates have pushed back. “The law voters passed last year w/ 80% of the vote prohibits a police contract from preempting it,” Equity Action President Chris Harris tweeted on Wednesday in response to reporting on these new ground rules by the Austin Politics Newsletter. “So the City & police frat now seek *for the first time ever* to hide the deal from public until after its done. This cannot stand.” 

The next negotiation meeting is slated for March 20.

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