PETITION FOR A CITY OF SAN ANTONIO CHARTER AMENDMENT TO REQUIRE ARBITRATION, IN LIEU OF LITIGATION, IN THE EVENT OF IMPASSE IN

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
To the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Antonio (“City”): We, the undersigned registered voters of the City of San Antonio, Texas, under Section 9.004 of the Texas Local
Government Code, hereby petition for an election to amend the Charter of the City of San Antonio to add the following as a separate section of our Charter, to read as follows:

If the City and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 624 (“Association”) have reached an impasse, as determined by the Association through written notice to the City, in regards to the negotiation of a
collective bargaining agreement:

(1) The Association, after written notice to the City containing specifications of the issues in dispute, may request arbitration and, in such event, the City and the Association shall submit all issues in dispute to arbitration within
forty-five (45) days of the City’s receipt of the Association’s written arbitration request. The arbitration ruling shall be final as to, binding on, and enforceable against both parties.
(2) Both parties shall select one arbitrator within fifteen (15) days of the Association’s original request to arbitrate and provide written notification to the other party of the name and selected contact information for the selected
arbitrator. The selected arbitrators shall attempt to select a third (neutral) arbitrator within ten (10) days of their selection in order to form a three-person Arbitration Board (“Board”). If the arbitrators are unable to agree on a
third arbitrator, either party may request the American Arbitration Association select the third arbitrator, according to its fair and regular procedures. The third arbitrator shall preside over the Board. Any decisions made by the
Board at any stage of the arbitration process will be determined by simple majority vote of the selected arbitrators.
(3) Arbitration involved hereunder shall be conducted by the City and the Association pursuant to the procedures, time lines, duties, requirements and rights as set forth in the following provisions of Chapter 174 of the Texas Local
Government Code: Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code §§ 174.155, 174.157 – 174.162, 174.164 and 174.253, or any successor to these statutory provisions.
(4) In making its decision, the Board may consider only the following: (a) compensation and conditions of employment that prevail in comparable public sector employment in other cities; (b) the rate of increase or decrease in the
cost of living for the San Antonio area as determined by the Consumer Price Index; (c) any of the following conditions: (i) hazards of employment, (ii) physical qualifications, (iii) educational qualifications, (iv) mental
qualifications, (v) job training, (vi) skills, and (vii) any other factors the Board determines to be relevant to the issues raised by the parties; and (d) revenues available to the City and the impact of any arbitration ruling on the
taxpayers of the City.

DATE PRINTED NAME DATE OF RESIDENCE ADDRESS COUNTY STATE VOTER REGISTRATION
SIGNATURE CITY/ZIP
SIGNED BIRTH NUMBER [optional]

1. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

2. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

3. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

4. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

5. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

6. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

7. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

8. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

9. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

10. SAN ANTONIO BEXAR TX

Page Number : 10000

Campaign Talking Points Fire

 We are doing these petitions to give residents a vote. A voice.

o We did it in the past with Streetcar and we are doing it again today because
City Hall is out of control.
o All we are saying is, Let the People Vote. Let them vote on issues and
holding City Hall accountable.
 This isn’t just firefighters. Its also: (LIST ORGANIZATIONS).
o This is a coalition of people and organizations who are tired of City Hall not
listening to the people.
o All of us are working towards giving people a vote. That's all.
 City leadership doesn't listen to the people. Here are two examples:
o City Council raised your SAWS rates over 12%.
o City Council is paying the City Manager more than the president of the United
States and Governor of Texas combined.
o In both of these cases, residents overwhelmingly disapprove of the decision.
o City Council didn't listen to the people and did it anyway.
 Your signature on these petitions will give you a chance to vote in November on
these issues. All of San Antonio will decide if these changes are needed.

Voter Access

 City Hall does whatever they want.

 The voters have no voice.
 City Council doesn't listen to the people.
 Today, if citizens want to stop City Hall, they need to collect about 75,000 voter
signatures in 40 days. That’s impossible.
 A perfect example of this happened when the City Council passed the SAWS rate
increase when citizens were almost united against it.
o SAWS will be raising your rates another 40% in the next 3 years.
o Would you want to have a vote on approving the rate increase?
 We are collecting signatures to force a Charter Change to allow citizens to hold City
Hall accountable.
o 20,000 signatures and the citizens get a chance to vote.
 We need your help and you signing this petition will give you a voice.
 Signing the petition will call for a November election and the citizens will decide if
they want to lower the signatures needed from 90,000 to 20,000.

Rebuttals:

 Anybody will be able to get signatures. It will be like California.

o Answer: 20,000 signatures is difficult to get. It takes time and resources.
o Answer: 20,000 signatures will match the state requirement in the Texas
Constitution. If its good enough for all of Texas it should be good for San
Antonio.
 This is about Firefighters and their contract.
o Answer: This is to give citizens a chance to vote. That’s it. No matter
what happens, the citizens should decide. Do you want a voice and a
chance to vote on what City Hall does?
 Arbitration Talking Points

 City filed a lawsuit on Fire and Police contract. The current city manager
has signed this contract 5 times over the last 12 years. City council has
approved this contract each time.

 City has spent more than $1 million dollars in attorney’s fees to fight the
first responders. This is the same contract the City signed 5 times (the latest
time was 2016). This lawsuit was filed in 2014

 During the City’s fight with the police over the contact , crime skyrocketed
causing the City of San Antonio to be crowned #1 in serious crime in the
nation

 During the City’s fight with the Firefighters, already bad response times
have gotten even worse. You have 6 minutes to live or die. Our response
times are at 8 minutes and that has increased over the last 4 years
 City Manager Talking Points

$475,000 + $75,000 bonus

 President of the United States --$400,000

 Governor of Texas --$150,000.
 4-Star General U.S. Army --$179,000
 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -$186,996

We are Military City USA. The City Manager should not make more than the
highest ranking military general. The City manager should not receive a bonus
that is nearly twice as much as the median household income in San Antonio.
Median Household Income $48,869