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 […]
Austin Police Association
The organization that represents Austin Police officers.
Posted inPolice
Police union revisits city’s proposal to expand civilian oversight as clock ticks down
The Austin Police Association will respond later this month to the city’s repeated demands to remove civilian oversight of the police department from the labor contract. In exchange, the union has asked the city to reconsider some of its earlier requests, including those related to promotions, vacation time and sick pay. APA President Thomas Villarreal […]
Posted inPolice
Community advocates seek to expand police oversight – but not at the bargaining table
After months of negotiation over a new police labor contract, the city and the police union have reached an impasse over the most contentious issues: civilian oversight and pay. As the bargaining teams attempt to forge a path forward, balancing the city’s finite budget and desire for increased oversight with the union’s demand for higher […]
Posted inPolice
Police union rejects city’s proposals to expand civilian oversight, raise pay
With the city of Austin eager to reach an expedited agreement for a new police labor contract that expands civilian oversight, the police union is demanding higher wages for officers – or no deal. Lowell Denton, an outside attorney and labor negotiator for the city, proposed a 10 percent raise over four years during the […]
Posted inPolice
Ordinance would remove civilian oversight of police from labor contract
The city of Austin laid out its plan for removing the Office of Police Oversight from its labor contract with the Austin Police Association, the union that represents police officers, as well as its aim to reach a new agreement expeditiously during a negotiation session Wednesday. “(W)e don’t believe that the public should have to […]
Posted inHousing
Public workers are being priced out of the city. Affordable housing can’t help many of them.
As wages for public sector workers fail to keep pace with housing prices, some city employees have turned to income-restricted housing for relief. But because finding an affordable home and meeting the qualifications isn’t always easy, many workers are forced to pay unaffordable market-rate rents or leave the city entirely. Jessica Simmons has been a […]
Posted inPolice
Equity Action submits police oversight petition ahead of November election
Austin voters may get the chance to decide whether to expand police oversight in the November election. Equity Action, a local political action committee dedicated to public safety reform, submitted 33,000 petition signatures to the city clerk on Monday in support of the Austin Police Oversight Act. Way to go, Austin! Despite the hottest Texas summer […]
Posted inPolice
City pushes to open police personnel files to the public
The city of Austin proposed making portions of police officers’ personnel files public, including disciplinary histories, and raising salaries 6 percent over four years during its Thursday negotiation session. As the current contract’s Sept. 30 expiration date nears, the two bargaining teams have begun debating its most substantial – and contentious – provisions: transparency, oversight, […]
Posted inPolice
Police union pushes for increased officers’ rights, standard transfer protocol
The Austin Police Association countered some of the city’s proposals regarding officers’ rights, discipline, assignment changes and dispute resolution during their latest negotiation session Wednesday. With just over two months until the current labor contract expires, the bargaining teams continue to hash out conflicting aims: increased transparency and oversight for the city, pay raises and other […]
Posted inPolice
City, police union prep for ‘more substantial’ meetings as labor contract nears expiration
With three months until the current labor agreement expires, the city of Austin and the Austin Police Association are making progress toward a new contract that balances the city’s goals of increased transparency and oversight with the union’s goals of pay raises and other benefits. “The next couple of meetings will be probably the more […]
Posted inPolice
City, police union tussle over increased oversight, officers’ rights
The city of Austin has proposed changes to its labor contract with the Austin Police Association that its bargaining team said would improve the transparency of administrative investigations and other disciplinary decisions involving police officers. The police union’s bargaining team pushed back, saying the changes were too broad and infringed upon officers’ rights to due […]
Posted inPolice
Police union proposes pay raises of up to 20% as part of contract negotiation
The Austin Police Association has proposed raises of up to 20 percent over four years as part of its ongoing labor contract negotiation with the city, citing the police department’s long-standing staffing shortages as well as rising housing costs and inflation. Officer Travis Vonholt, a five-year department veteran who serves on the APA Board of […]