The comments came during a press conference inside the Solvang Visitors Center on Copenhagen Drive.
asserted
comments → come → 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.
asserted
sides → say → steps
“We’ve made it clear what the bargaining unit is willing to go back for,” Jeff Lee, a Teamsters Local 986 representative, said.
asserted
Lee → make → what
“The city has failed to provide it.”
asserted
city → fail → 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.
uncertain
it → accord → 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.
asserted
proposal → have → increases
The city, on the other hand, offered a 6% increase followed by a 5% increase and then 4%.
asserted
city → offer → increase
The union declined the proposal.
asserted
union → decline → proposal
Before that, the city had offered increases of 6%, followed by 4% and 4%.
asserted
city → offer → %
“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.
uncertain
Murphy → resolve → Press
“We remain at the table, waiting for them to return.”
asserted
them → remain → table
Olivia Uribe-Mutal, assistant to the city administrator, said the city is still willing to negotiate new contracts.
asserted
city → say → contracts
“They’ve moved the goalposts on us,” she said.
asserted
she → move → us
“Our door is open, and we want our people back.”
asserted
we → want → people
The city, however, said in a press release Friday that it has offered as much as it can.
asserted
it → say → much
Lee, meanwhile, said the City Council needs to authorize officials to bargain further in order to reach an agreement with workers.
asserted
Council → say → workers
“At this point,” he said, according to the News-Press, “I think it’s more about playing games than anything.”
uncertain
it → say → anything
On Sept. 15, 30 workers, representing about 75% of Solvang’s municipal workforce, walked off the job.
asserted
workers → represent → job
No further negotiations occurred as the business day drew to a close Friday.
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day → occur → close
City officials have said hourly wages are not the only factor in the negotiations, with medical insurance and other benefits also playing a role.
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insurance → say → role
Uribe-Mutal has also said that costs associated with the labor dispute, including labor attorneys and hiring contractors, will be made available to the public.
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costs → say → public
“We’re keeping track,” she told the News-Press.
asserted
she → keep → Press
“When the dust settles on this, it will be reported out.”
asserted
it → settle → this
Lee added that it seems the city is willing to spend whatever money it deems necessary rather than pay workers what they believe they deserve.
asserted
they → add → what
“It’s really really getting to the point of fiscal irresponsibility,” he told the News-Press.
asserted
he → get → Press
At the root of the disagreement are raises, according to the News-Press.
uncertain
raises → accord → Press
Workers are upset that City Hall leaders received increases of 20% to 40%, while they haven’t.
asserted
they → upset → %
Murphy, however, says the raises aren’t what workers have described them as.
asserted
workers → say → them
He added that they were necessary following a study by Central Valley company RGS Advisors that was commissioned by the city.
asserted
that → add → city
The City Council adopted the raises in June 2025 after they were recommended in the study.
asserted
they → adopt → study
“It’s never been about the money,” Murphy said Friday, according to the News-Press.
uncertain
Murphy → say → Press
“The objection is not, ‘What can we afford and what can we not afford right now?’
asserted
we → afford → what
This about what the study said.”
asserted
study → say → what
The city argued that salaries for senior management positions needed to be brought in line with market rates, while rank-and-file positions did not require the same adjustments.
asserted
positions → argue → adjustments
Officials added Friday that what they were offering workers was more than enough.
asserted
offering → add → workers
The Aporia
