Contract ends dispute in Burlingame

Administrative employees with 10 or more years of service — including librarians, accountants, engineers and building inspectors — will also be receiving additional 2.5% longevity pay. Maintenance employees like sewer, electric and park workers will now receive 2% of base pay per certification, up to a maximum of 6%. 

The new contracts will expire June 30, 2026, and come after over eight months of negotiation, impasse proceedings as of Nov. 20, 2023, and use of a state-appointed mediator. 

“The council and residents appreciate our dedicated workers and we are grateful that we have come to a settlement agreement. It is never easy for our staff to be out of contract and it’s important we were able to work collaboratively toward resolution,” Burlingame Mayor Donna Colson said in a statement. 

In a Feb. 21 press release, the union touted the “historic agreement” as a result of worker engagement and member participation over the past year, noting that it withdrew all unfair labor practice charges filed against the city as part of the agreement. 

“As part of its settlement with the city, AFSCME agreed to withdraw its Unfair Labor Practice charges against Burlingame in order to secure a new contract and wipe the slate clean,” the press release read. 

The union had filed several ULPs against the city of Burlingame during negotiations, accusing city administrators and then-mayor and current Councilmember Michael Brownrigg of infringing on workers’ rights to free speech. 

A one-day Dec. 4 strike based on the ULP claims exemplified these concerns.

Workers pointed to alleged instances when Parks Superintendent Rich Holz told a maintenance unit employee discussing wages at a City Council meeting that he should “watch what he says” because the city’s mayor “takes these comments personally” in one example, and in another allegedly saying if employees did not feel satisfied with their pay, he would “help them find another place to work.”

The strike then prompted commentary from Brownrigg at the Dec. 4 City Council meeting, where said the impetus behind the strike was not the alleged ULPs but the ongoing contract negotiations.

“I always will respect your right, or anybody’s right, to pitch a tent and say what you want to say on our front lawn. Not a problem, anytime, about anything,” he said during the meeting. “But talk about what’s really bugging you. I have to say that the events that you guys called out feel to me like you couldn’t have picked on a nicer guy with more integrity. That’s just me personally.”

Union leadership maintained the one-day strike was based on ULP complaints alone. 

Parties will begin negotiating new contracts at the end of 2025, according to the union’s press release.