October is here, and Stockton police officers are entering their fourth month without a new labor contract as negotiations between the police union and the city drag on.
The previous contract ran out June 30.
Negotiations between the Stockton Police Officers’ Association and the city with no contract in place have stretched several days longer than they did last time when a deal was reached by Sept. 27.
Forged roughly every three years, contracts between the police union and city leadership determine the salaries, benefits, time off and other working conditions for rank-and-file officers and sergeants. Higher-ranking officers are represented by a separate bargaining group.
The exact figures now under negotiation for officers’ salaries, pay increases and compensation are unknown, as the talks take place in confidential City Council sessions.
New officers made about $6,650 a month and new sergeants about $7,860 a month under the previous contract.
“While the details surrounding negotiations are confidential, the City remains committed to fair bargaining and good-faith efforts concerning all of our labor units,” city spokesperson Tony Mannor said when asked what the city sees as the reason for the delay.
Mannor added, “The Council has made recruitment and retention a priority, and the City continues to explore all opportunities to achieve that goal.”
SPOA President Patrick High, a Stockton police detective, didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment about why the union has not reached a contract deal with the city.
During negotiations on SPOA’s previous contract, the main sticking point between city leaders and union officials was the lower salary being offered to its officers compared to pay in other cities similar to Stockton.
At the time, SPOA said Stockton police were getting paid 34% less than the average in comparable police departments. Then-City Manager Harry Black disputed that number, saying the real gap was 20%. About four-fifths of police union members voted to reject the city’s proposed deal at the time.
As of 2022, starting and maximum yearly salaries for Stockton officers and sergeants ranged anywhere from about $12,000 to nearly $40,000 less than departments in San Joaquin County’s other largest cities.
Ultimately, the city and the union agreed on a final contract that increased officers’ base pay by nearly 2% more than the city’s earlier offer.
But with voters’ passage of ballot Measure N in the November 2024 election, the current standoff could play out differently.
Also known as the “Keep Stockton Safe” measure, the new law says negotiations may be handed over to a panel of three outside arbitrators “upon the declaration of an impasse by the City or by the recognized employee organization involved in the dispute.” Whatever the arbitrators decide must be implemented.
The measure doesn’t spell out what criteria will be used to determine when negotiations are considered no longer possible.
SPOA supported the policy, while the City Council opposed it. California law bars police officers from going on strike.
Under the current city budget passed in June, Stockton has set aside enough money to employ 425 officers. It had 371 as of Wednesday, a police spokesman said.