SAN ANTONIO – When the fire union led a 2018 charter change campaign, it was another front in a bitter, multi-year contract battle with the City of San Antonio.
Led at the time by controversial President Chris Steele, the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association pushed to make it easier to overturn city council decisions, give the union the power to force arbitration during contract talks, and put salary and tenure limits on the city manager’s position.
All three made it onto the ballot, though only the latter two were passed by voters.
The city manager caps — a salary limited to 10 times the lowest-paid city employee and only eight years in office — passed with 59% approval. It was widely seen as a referendum on the union’s nemesis, then-City Manager Sheryl Sculley.
Six years later, the two sides have new leaders, friendlier relations, and a new contract. But the union is considering whether to continue the fight and turn its political influence hose on a new charter amendment campaign to undo those caps.
The proposed amendment, Prop C, is one of six charter amendments on San Antonio’s Nov. 5 ballot. Supporters said salary and tenure caps hurt San Antonio’s chances of finding top talent for the city’s top administrative job.
The caps didn’t apply to Sculley and her $475,000 base salary, though she announced her retirement shortly after the Nov. 2018 election, after 13 years working for the city.
However, her successor, Erik Walsh, has a salary currently capped at $374,000 and will need to leave his position by March 2027 unless voters decide to double back on their 2018 change.
The business community has been hoping to repeal the caps since they were passed, and some prominent names have formed a political action committee, “Renew SA,” to support all six amendments.
The PAC expects to spend more than $1 million on the campaign.
‘What if we get another… Sculley’
SAPFFA President Joe Jones said the union has “tremendous respect” for Walsh and Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez, who led the city’s negotiations team in the recent contract talks. However, he said the union sees the caps as a “separate issue.”
“I’ve always gotten along with Erik (Walsh) as a person. It’s also not personal. It’s a principle,” Jones told KSAT on Thursday.
Jones pointed to the salary cap’s intrinsic connection to the lowest-paid city employees’ wages. He also said the union believes in term limits, even putting them on its own presidential position.
“Looking forward into the future: ‘What if we get another, for lack of a better term, another (Sheryl) Sculley?’” he asked.
Union members also put lots of money and time into the previous campaign, Jones said.
But with less than six weeks until the election, the union hasn’t taken a public stance on the amendment.
A decision had been expected Wednesday, but Jones said after a “marathon” executive board meeting, which included discussion of the “’Renew SA’ special interest group and mega-PAC,” the union still wasn’t ready to take a position or release a statement on Prop C.
Jones said that would likely come next week.
‘Sign of weakness’
What this further delay means depends on who you ask.
Political consultant Laura Barberena, the owner of VIVA Politics, believed it was “extremely unlikely” the union would weigh in on the new campaign. But she was “surprised” by the lack of decision on an official stance.
“I think they are now more likely considering to weigh in, to spend some money, to ensure that it stays as it is,” she said.
Christian Archer, the political strategist who managed the “Go Vote No” campaign opposing the union’s 2018 charter changes, thinks if the union was going to get involved, it would have already.
And while Archer hopes the union decides to stay out of the campaign this time, he said it would be “a sign of weakness.”
“I’m sure that’s what’s going through their head is, you know, ‘Did we put all of our muscle and all of our effort and cause all of that, that, you know, consternation in the community,’ to then say, ‘Oh, well, now it’s OK,’” Archer said.
But if SAPFFA does get involved, Archer said Prop C would be “in deep trouble.” The 2018 campaign against them was one the hardest of his career, he said.
“The firefighters are well-liked. They’re supported,” Archer said. “So, when they put their muscle and weight behind something, it’s very difficult to be on the opposite side of the firefighters — and the police union, for that matter.”
Prop C may already be on shaky ground. Renew SA shared polling data with KSAT that showed a relatively favorable take on the ballot proposition. However, a UTSA poll showed it floundering, with less than 17% of voters in favor.
Getting involved could also be risky for the union. While the city and SAPFFA’s relationship has largely been repaired, their new contract is only three years long, and Walsh could still be around at the start of negotiations for the next contract.
“So, that does weigh on us. That does enter into the equation,” Jones said, noting Walsh’s loyalty to the city and passion for the community.
“I see that there’s a possibility that it could be taken personally, but it’s not personal,” Jones said.
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