Sanford Nowlin
Councilman Greg Brockhouse addresses the media at the fire union's headquarters building prior to last year's charter amendment vote.
Greg Brockhouse — the sole council member to support the union's November charter amendments and a frequent critic of the city's controversial suit against the union — sent a letter to its leadership saying, essentially, "Enough already."
“I am calling on you, the men and women of the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, to return to the negotiating table and begin the process of rebuilding trust,” Brockhouse wrote in the letter, delivered last week.
The City of San Antonio dropped its lawsuit challenging the "evergreen" clause in the union's labor contract after a bruising ballot box defeat in November. Voters approved two union-floated charter amendments largely viewed as payback to the city over the prolonged dispute.
Last spring, union President Chris Steele said that if the city drops its suit, his members would be back at the table within seven days. However, the union hasn't returned to negotiations and been largely silent about its plans.
Appearing to kickstart talks could be a bankable victory for Brockhouse, who's mulling a run against Mayor Ron Nirenberg in May. The union has been without a new contract for four years.
"Schedule a meeting. Be bigger than those who sought to break you," Brockhouse continued in his letter. "You won. Now win again, by being everything they say you aren’t and stand together at the negotiating table and let’s get a deal done."
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