Solvang city workers go on strike, repeatedly clash with officials over wages

A California town know as the “Danish capital of America” has broken out in civil war over how much city workers should get paid.Unionized workers in Solvang have been on strike for three weeks and have refused repeated offers from officials for a negotiated pay rise.“It’s a bit disappointing,” Solvang Mayor David Brown told the press on the afternoon of Oct.2, according to the Santa Barbara News-Press. The comments came during a press conference inside the Solvang Visitors Center on Copenhagen Drive.One union representative said the city is well aware of what city workers are willing to settle for as both sides continue to discuss their next steps.“We’ve made it clear what the bargaining unit is willing to go back for,” Jeff Lee, a Teamsters Local 986 representative, said.

“The city has failed to provide it.”According to the city, the union said it wanted a three-year contract with 6% increases each year, tied to the cost of living.City leaders, however, weren’t having it, arguing that the proposal would be more expensive than a previous union proposal of a 4% increase followed by two 6% increases.The city, on the other hand, offered a 6% increase followed by a 5% increase and then 4%.The union declined the proposal.

Before that, the city had offered increases of 6%, followed by 4% and 4%.“I was hopeful that it would finally resolve the situation, but it obviously has not,” City Manager Randy Murphy said, according to the News-Press.“We remain at the table, waiting for them to return.”Olivia Uribe-Mutal, assistant to the city administrator, said the city is still willing to negotiate new contracts.

“They’ve moved the goalposts on us,” she said.“Our door is open, and we want our people back.”The city, however, said in a press release Friday that it has offered as much as it can.Lee, meanwhile, said the City Council needs to authorize officials to bargain further in order to reach an agreement with workers.“At this point...