After tense negotiations marked by charges of sabotage and retaliation, San Jose police have reached a tentative agreement with the city for a significant pay raise over the next three years.
The deal still needs to be approved by the union and City Council, which could happen later this month. If approved, San Jose Police Officers’ Association members would see 7% raises this year, 5% next year and 3% the following year. Additional raises after that have not been set.
It comes after the police union in recent months launched scathing rebukes against City Hall and SJPD leadership over cuts to overtime pay and officer discipline.
In July, the union blasted City Manager Jennifer Maguire — who is tasked with absorbing the strain of a structural budget deficit — for making top-down cuts to overtime pay for the department’s Bureau of Investigations. The union called the decision “sabotage” against major crimes investigations and “retaliation” against labor leaders for exercising their bargaining rights. The union also accused department leaders of incompetence and corruption over a deputy chief’s altering of personnel records that led to the termination of an officer.
The tentative deal, released Thursday, shows the union and city are reconciling these issues, with changes to discipline procedures and a more systematic approach to reducing overtime through scheduling and operational changes. Certain 9-1-1 calls would also be delegated to non-police staff. The city will evaluate certain calls related to homelessness, mental health and quality of life, welfare checks and juvenile disturbances.
“Balancing the fiscal realities of San Jose with keeping our residents and officers safe was a difficult goal,” San Jose Police Officers’ Association President Steve Slack said in the city’s announcement of the deal. “We are pleased that the City and the SJPOA rose to the occasion and worked collaboratively to produce a fair and prudent Tentative Agreement that will make for a safer San Jose.”
The deal includes a spate of side agreements, such as the reinstatement of mounted horseback police units, the purchase of a fixed-wing aircraft, district-wide dispatching and two-officer car assignments. It comes amid a recent report by financial tech company SmartAsset, ranking San Jose safest out of the 50 largest U.S. cities based on several factors, including violent crimes, traffic fatalities per 100,000 residents, median income and housing costs.
“In San Jose, safety is built on trust — between neighbors and the officers who serve them,” Mayor Matt Mahan said in the city’s announcement. “That trust is why we’re ranked the safest big city in the country despite being the most thinly-staffed. And it’s why we came to a fair agreement on a contract that keeps our officers on the streets and our residents safe. I’m grateful to the patient, civic-minded negotiators from the City and POA who made this success possible.”
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
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