Police union slams ballot item
Association calls end of bargaining ‘form of defunding’
The San Antonio Police Officers Association on Tuesday stepped up its campaign against a ballot initiative that would remove the union’s ability to collectively bargain.
The initiative, listed as Proposition B on the May 1 ballot, would repeal what is known as Chapter 174, which gives police officers the right to negotiate a contract with the city through collective bargaining. An organization called Fix SAPD gathered more than 20,000 signatures to get it on the ballot.
Danny Diaz, the union president, accused Fix SAPD of “lying to voters about the real objective of their campaign” and wanting to defund the police department.
Diaz said at a news conference that taking away the union’s ability to collective bargaining is “a form of defunding.”
“You’re taking away the officers’ rights to bargain with the city, pay, insurance, those types of things,” he said. Fix SAPD board member James Dykman refuted the union’s claims, stating Fix SAPD is “not about defunding.”
“We’re about providing a means to police accountability while ensuring officers are still protected,” he said.
“We find that repealing 174 doesn’t offer any mechanism to defund the police. Any insinuation that it does is pretty much just a blatant attempt at misinformation to the public,” he added.
By repealing 174, the organization hopes to foster more community input in future contract negotiations to hold officers more accountable, according to Ananda Tomas, the organization’s deputy director.
Fix SAPD has pushed for police reforms since the nationwide outcry over the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by Minneapolis police.
Alonzio Hardin, the president of the San Antonio Black Police Officer’s Coalition and a 14-year veteran with SAPD, can see both sides and said that while there needs to be changes, repeal of collective bargaining isn’t the solution.
“We especially in the Black community know we must look at ways to work closer with the community and examine reform,” said Hardin, who spoke on behalf of the union’s stance at the news con
ference.
“The answer is not to defund the police,” Hardin continued. “Defunding the police hurts Black families, hurts Black communities and makes our neighborhoods less safe.”
But that's not what Fix SAPD is aiming to do, organization officials said.
“We know that police misconduct affects communities of color most of all,” Tomas said. “Creating a contract where we hold officers more accountable and have better discipline, it can only benefit Black and brown communities.”
Diaz and Hardin were concerned that organizations listed as partners of Fix SAPD on its website want to cut police department funding.
Dykman countered by saying, “Outside organizations don't define our mission, we do.”
The union and the city are negotiating a new contract, and city officials are pushing for changes in the department's disciplinary rules.
If the contract is negotiated, ratified by union members and adopted by City Council before the election, and then voters decide May 1 to repeal Chapter 174, the contract would remain in force and collective bargaining would end after it expires, according to Liz Provencio, the first assistant city attorney.
The current contract expires Sept. 30.
Even if voters approve the proposition in May, police officers could still negotiate wages and benefits through meet-and-confer talks with the city. Other major cities in Texas, such as Houston, Dallas and Austin, use that method instead of collective bargaining.
“We are moving forward with a system that resembles that of other cities across Texas,” said Fix SAPD co-founder Ojiyoma Martin. “We are trying to (go) along with them in paying our officers more, taking care of our officers, but also ensuring that our officers are held accountable.”
But if the proposition is approved, the city would not be required to enter into labor negotiations with the union, SAPOA negotiator Ron Delord has said.
The next bargaining session takes place at 12:30 p.m Friday.
The last day to register to vote is April 1, and election day is May 1.