BURLINGAME, Calif. – AFSCME members who work for the city of Burlingame showed how persistence and unshakable solidarity reap rewards for working people.
Members of AFSCME Local 829 (Council 57) who work for the Northern California city have won the largest contract gains in recent memory, securing cost-of-living allowances of 14% over the next three years and total possible pay raises of approximately 16.5%. The union’s previous one-year contract for 2022 included raises of only 2% — well below inflation in the surrounding San Francisco Bay area.
Workers fought with city management for more than eight months until the Burlingame City Council finally approved the new agreement on Feb. 20. The contract will last until June 30, 2026.
During negotiations, union members filed multiple unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against the city, including over allegations that former Mayor Michael Brownrigg stifled workers’ rights to free speech. As part of its settlement with the city, AFSCME agreed to withdraw its ULP charges to secure a new contract.
The foundation to the workers’ success was their engagement with contract negotiations over the past year. The local increased its membership rates from approximately 77% of all eligible workers before negotiations began to more than 91% today. Last December, more than 100 AFSCME workers staged a one-day strike to protest management’s actions — the first strike in the city since 1981.
“Although we have won the biggest gains in recent memory for AFSCME at Burlingame, not every worker is jumping up and down, since many Burlingame employees’ wages are still likely to lag behind other neighboring cities,” said Rich Stephens, a water quality lead worker in the Public Works Department.
AFSCME members and the city were able to break through an impasse in negotiations thanks to the valuable assistance of John Kagel, a state-appointed mediator with more than 50 years of experience during which he mediated hundreds of labor disputes.
“John Kagel was instrumental in bridging the divide that had existed with the city for so long,” said Joleen Helley, an administrative assistant in the Recreation Department.
AFSCME members and city officials will likely resume negotiations for their next labor contract in a little less than two years from now.
“Although it is disappointing that hard-working city employees had to fight so hard given how robust Burlingame’s finances are, I doubt the city will approach AFSCME in the same way when we negotiate a little over two years from now,” said Rod Palmquist, AFSCME Local 829’s business agent and the union’s lead negotiator.