San Antonio official calls firefighters' request for 33% pay bump ‘unrealistic’

San Antonio's fire union on Thursday said it would only agree to the city's proposed 4% annual raises if they're accompanied by a 21.7% boost to its members' annual base pay.

That equates to a 33.7% pay bump over the next three years — an increase Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez called "unrealistic" during a third meeting with the union over its collective bargaining agreement, which expires in December.

"It feels to us that you are negotiating for what happened in the past 10 years," Villagomez said during Thursday's meeting. "We're focusing on the future."

Villagomez is referring to the last contract negotiation between the city and the union, which resulted in which fire department employees going six years without a raise while the union engaged in scorched-earth tactics. That battle ended in 2020 and was resolved in arbitration.

In addition to the pay bump, the union wants a new contract that includes 72 hours off after each 24-hour employee shift instead of 48 hours, a change that would require the hiring of 404 additional personnel.

Union negotiators are also asking for a higher starting salary for entry-level firefighters, which currently sits at $56,172. During a presentation on Thursday, union representatives pointed out that the starting salary for San Antonio firefighters is lower than those in Dallas, Arlington and Plano.

Even so, the city maintains it doesn't have the money to make those dreams a reality. It would be forced to tap into the general fund usually reserved for street work, public libraries and other public projects.

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