Remove Binding Arbitration from the Vallejo City Charter

We want to fix the City Charter. Binding arbitration is no longer necessary and we need to remove it.

Only about 25 out of more than 450 cities in California have binding arbitration. Vallejo has it and it is hurting our ability to manage and control city finances.

Local government should control local resources - NOT a third party.

Because we have binding arbitration in our City Charter, outside third party arbitrators make the final decisions in disputes between the City and public employees. Those decisions are final and cannot be appealed. By removing binding arbitration, we would return control of local resources back to local government and our elected officials.

Local officials and city government should be accountable to us.

We can't hold our elected officials accountable for managing city resources properly if they don't have control over those resources. Removing binding arbitration will force our local elected officials to be accountable for how our money is spent.

Vallejo needs a chance for a better future.

We can't create a better future for Vallejo and everyone who lives here as long as we have binding arbitration in the City Charter. Until we have local control of the City's resources and we can hold local officials accountable for managing those resources, we cannot create a better future for Vallejo and the one that we all deserve. We don't have the money to fix streets and parks, hire more policemen and firefighters, improve arts and recreation facilities, and fund programs for seniors and children. Binding arbitration is preventing us from creating a healthy and bright future for our community. It has to be removed.

Facts about removing binding arbitration

Only about 25 cities in California still have binding arbitration. The State Supreme Court struck down binding arbitration for almost all cities in California. Because it is in the Vallejo City Charter, only the citizens of Vallejo can remove it. The League of California Cities has said that binding arbitration should be removed. The League strongly opposes binding arbitration because it puts "crucial financial decisions in the hands of a third party." Because of binding arbitration, Vallejo spends more on public employee contracts than any other city in the Bay Area and more than most other cities in California. We can't afford to continue binding arbitration and it must be removed. Public employees and union members will still be protected even without binding arbitration. Collective bargaining rights are protected by state law and the existing contracts would remain unchanged. Just like the employees of hundreds of other California cities, public employees always have the right to appeal to the California Civil Service Commission for support in dispute resolution, meet and confer, and file grievances for arbitration.

Frequently Asked Questions about Binding Arbitration

What does it mean to sign this petition?

Signing this petition will enable us to put an initiative on the ballot to remove binding arbitration from the Vallejo City Charter. The city's finances are a mess and binding arbitration is preventing us from making Vallejo the kind of place we all want to live, work and raise families. By signing this petition you will allow us to put the question to the citizens on the November ballot: Should we remove binding arbitration from the Vallejo City Charter? We want to fix the City Charter, make local government work better and help create a better future for Vallejo. That's what this is about.

What is binding arbitration?

As an alternative to judges or courts settling disputes between unions and management, binding arbitration requires the City to hand over disputes with public employees to a third party arbitrator with no interest in Vallejo. The arbitrators decisions are final and cannot be appealed. Over the years, binding arbitration decisions have cost the City tens of millions of dollars that the City cannot afford. We don't need it. It is killing the City and it has to be removed.

AN OUTSIDE ARBITRATOR SHOULD NOT DECIDE:

How to spend your tax dollars.
How to staff city departments.
What hours and days of the week employees should work.
How much the City should pay its employees.
How city services are delivered to residents and businesses.

Why do we have binding arbitration?

Binding arbitration was added to the City Charter in the 1970s to protect the community from strikes by public safety unions. Since then, State law has changed and binding arbitration is no longer necessary. The California Supreme Court made binding arbitration illegal in most California cities. Because binding arbitration is in the Vallejo City Charter, it has to be removed by a vote of the people. Only a few dozen cities in California still have binding arbitration. It is outdated and must be removed.

Doesn't binding arbitration protect union members and guarantee collective bargaining?

No. Binding arbitration isn't necessary and without it, union members will still have the right to collective bargaining; their rights are still protected by their contracts and state law. The City is still required to negotiate wages, benefits and working conditions and public employees are still protected. Over 98% of California cities have no binding arbitration in their employee contracts and those cities and employees are doing fine. We have it, and our local government is a mess. Binding arbitration must be removed.

Doesn’t binding arbitration save time and money?

No. Binding arbitration is no guarantee that disputes will be resolved more quickly. In some cases, it is only a guarantee that disputes will never be resolved and it strips local officials of the power to resolve them. For example, Vallejo firefighters have been unable to have performance reviews for nearly twenty years because of binding arbitration. And binding arbitration does not save money, in fact, binding arbitration takes the control of local finances away from local officials and in the process, it has cost the City of Vallejo tens of millions of dollars. That is money that we cannot afford. Binding arbitration must be removed.