Fountain Valley, labor union at impasse in negotiations

The city of Fountain Valley and a labor union representing several units of employees remain at an impasse nine months into negotiations.

Talks between the city and Teamsters Local 911, which is representing the bargaining groups that include general, municipal and professional and technical employees from across all city departments, began in April.

An employee protest took place outside City Hall on Dec. 3, the evening of the reorganization meeting for the City Council. The demonstrators handed out fliers to those in attendance on their way into the building.

The handout noted that about 100 city employees are represented by the Teamsters union. It also made mention of the collective ask for the bargaining groups, including “more base pay, cost mitigation for medical insurance, and appropriate classification of employment with commensurate pay based on comparable cities.”

“We deeply value all of our employees and their contributions to making Fountain Valley a wonderful place to live,” City Manager Maggie Le said in a statement acknowledging the protest. “We are disappointed that we’re in disagreement; however, the city remains committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and sustainable solution for all parties involved.”

City officials said the groups involved in the labor dispute had initially requested a 40% increase in compensation over three years and had brought the ask down to 20% over the same period. The city was offering 12% over three years.

Fountain Valley reached agreements with its confidential, non-represented professional and technical unit, as well as its police and fire personnel for similar raises ahead of the expiration of their contracts on June 30. Police received an additional 1% annually.

Carlos Rubio, president of Teamsters Local 911, appeared before the City Council on Dec. 17. About two dozen employees represented by the union stood up when asked to at the start of his remarks.

“I’m not here to negotiate from here because obviously three minutes are not enough, but I’m here to recommit our commitment to the city of Fountain Valley, to work with City Manager [Maggie] Le and to get this done,” Rubio commented on what he called a “stalemate” in the negotiations.

“It is unfortunate that we’re going to be going into the holidays without a contract for our three units, which are the municipal employees, the professional and technical employees, and the general employees,” he continued. “We’re here to partner, we’re here to serve in this community, we’re here to develop the quality of life and continue that for many years to come. We understand fiscal stability, … but at the same time, we believe in investment and the investment in your employees.”

Fountain Valley has not experienced a disruption to city services due to the impasse.

Laura Drottz Kalty of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, representing the city in the labor talks, said that while there has been no progress of late, both parties have indicated that they are agreeable to go to mediation.