A push to open up talks on cops’ contract
San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen is readying legislation that would compel the city’s police union and human resources department to negotiate the Police Department’s labor contracts in public.
It’s a measure intended to fuel the type of law enforcement reform efforts that have been historically stymied in such meetings, Ronen said. If passed, the ordinance would bring an unprecedented amount of transparency — and scrutiny — to a process that has long been offlimits to the public.
The announcement comes as supervisors weigh a contract agreement with the San Francisco Police Officers Association, or POA, that would delay the force’s impending raises in exchange for steeper pay bumps down the line.
The agreement, which would extend the officers’ contract for two years, would save the city millions during the coronavirus crisis, but it has drawn backlash for failing to hold the department accountable to any reforms.
“This is a problem of the POA historically pausing or killing reform measures at a time when the entire country is out in the streets demanding change,” Ronen said.
Representatives from the POA did not respond to requests for comment.
The legislation would require that collective bargaining meetings with the POA be announced in advance and open to the public, and that the city publicly post all collective bargaining notices and correspondence between the city and union officials.
Mawuli Tugbenyoh, chief of policy at the city’s HR department, said city officials have not yet seen Ronen’s specific proposal and could not comment on it.
However, he said, HR officials are “in favor of adding transparency measures that are reasonable and meet the standards” under state law.
Ronen’s proposal centers on a state law that requires the city to “meet and confer” with
labor officials over any matters concerning wages, hours or conditions of employment. However, Ronen said, the POA has in the past exploited this process to delay police reform measures — matters that have nothing to do with wages, hours or conditions of employment.
The most recent example stems from a bodyworn camera policy, which prevents officers involved in a police shooting or incustody death from viewing footage before making an initial statement. The policy, which was passed by the Police Commission in January 2018, was held in legal limbo for 2 ½ years due to union negotiations.
The pending contract agreement forgoes officers’ 2% pay raises scheduled to take effect in December. The deal was made in exchange for a 3% raise in July 2021, and another 3% boost in July 2022.
Rebecca Young, a member of the San Francisco Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Task Force, said that the policy has nothing to do with working conditions, and that the union has no authority to stonewall it.
“Meet and confer is how they ( the police union) hold absolute power over the city,” said Young, who is a San Francisco public defender.
While it’s standard that such meetings transpire out of public view, privacy isn’t required by state law, said David Rizk, who is also a member of the Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Task Force.
Additionally, Rizk said, almost every city around the country limits their union negotiations to issues on working conditions.
“Historically, San Francisco has adopted a more laborfriendly approach, of being willing and open to discussing anything with the POA,” he said. “And the MOU that’s ... up for approval basically memorializes that practice.”
John Crew, a retired attorney with the ACLU, said the Board of Supervisors should vote down the POA’s contract agreement on their desks — regardless of Ronen’s proposal.
“Possible transparency for the next contract negotiations ... will not cure the deeply flawed current proposed contract that would perpetuate the status quo until mid2023 and needlessly further delay reform,” Crew said in an email to The Chronicle.
Ronen’s proposed ordinance has drawn support from fellow Supervisors Dean Preston, Matt Haney, Shamann Walton and Sandra Lee Fewer, along with San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, Public Defender Mano Raju, and civil rights organizations including the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club and the ACLU.
The city attorney’s office is still reviewing Ronen’s proposed ordinance, which means she wasn’t able to formally introduce it at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
“I think it’s time that the public is allowed to watch these negotiations and make sure that the ( human resources) department stops giving away the store and starts negotiating hard for the reform that the entire world is demanding,” Ronen said.