May 19—The Texas Legislature is one step closer to passing a new, mandatory method to settle Houston's long-running contract dispute with its firefighters' union, a move Mayor Sylvester Turner's administration opposes.
Mayoral contender and state Sen. John Whitmire's bill to use binding arbitration to settle such disputes is set for a vote in the House on Friday. If approved, it would need another affirmative vote — typically a formality — in the House on Saturday to head to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk, unless the House amends the bill. It passed the Senate, 29-0 in March.
Whitmire, who told firefighters "help is on the way" when he launched his campaign for mayor, is among the front-runners in November's City Hall elections. In that way, the bill has pitted the current mayor against the man who could replace him.
The bill would take effect Sept. 1 if passed, or immediately after Abbott's signature if it gets the support of two-thirds of the House. That means it could apply under Turner's administration, which has sought language that would postpone it until the next mayor takes office.
Turner's team has said making the bill effective this year could wreak havoc on the city's ongoing budget process, or could result in arbitration taking place in the middle of the mayoral election.
"We made it effective to prevent kicking the can down the road, which has been the city's process for at least the last seven years," Whitmire said Thursday. "When you hear at council meetings the mayor say, 'This is the next mayor's problem,' and hell, there's six months left (in Turner's tenure), the firemen haven't had a contract since '17 under this administration. ... This is just to treat the firefighters fairly, get out of the courts, have grown-ups sit down at the table and get the personal feelings out of it, and get the city to do their job."
Houston voters gave firefighters the right to bargain for contracts in 2003. They had negotiated contracts with the city every few years until 2017, when the last contract expired.
The fire union and City Hall have been locked in a contract dispute for most of Turner's tenure, and firefighters have worked without a contract since the most recent one expired. That has led to bitter disputes in court and at the ballot box.
State law forbids firefighters from striking during a labor dispute. They are allowed to seek a remedy in court, but that has proven a lengthy and cumbersome process. The union sued on those grounds in 2017, but it has been tied up in appeals as the city argued it would be unconstitutional for a judge to set their pay. The Supreme Court rejected that argument earlier this year, while simultaneously tossing out a voter-approved measure that would have given firefighters pay parity with police.
Whitmire's bill would allow firefighters to seek a resolution from an arbitrators' panel, an approach he hopes would lead to a swifter resolution. It would apply to Texas cities with more than 1.9 million people — only Houston. Under current law, the two sides must agree to that process.
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Under the bill, the city and the union both would select one arbitrator and then agree on a third, neutral arbitrator. They would present their cases to that panel, which would draw up a deal both must abide by. Whitmire said that deal could not exceed 1 year, making it a bridge to a broader contract.
The Houston Professional Fire Fighters' Association Local 341 has advocated for the change and supports Whitmire's bill. It also is pushing a ballot measure with a similar effect on November's municipal ballot. The strategy mirrors one used in San Antonio, where an arbitration deal ended a bitter, years-long pay dispute there, and Austin, where the city has weighed challenging the fire union's voter-approved arbitration measure in court.
"It's a methodology to do exactly what the law intended, which is to have an expeditious resolution to an impasse," said Marty Lancton, president of Local 341.
Turner has railed against the idea, saying it takes one of the Houston's largest expenses out of City Hall's discretion. The Fire Department's proposed $594 million budget makes up about a quarter of the city's operating budget. Nearly 90 percent of its funding last year went to personnel. Turner has given firefighters — who make less than their counterparts in other Texas cities — 18 percent raises over the last three years.
"As written, Senate Bill 736 does not work for the city of Houston, and taxpayers will pay the price," Turner said. "Most importantly, it brings the state into the local negotiations as it relates to Houston firefighters only. "
After San Antonio voters passed a similar measure in 2018, Fitch Credit Rating agencies downgraded the city's credit. Turner has cited that downgrade as a primary reason to avoid the new measure.
The deal ultimately reached in San Antonio, though, largely was seen as a fiscal win for the city. The union there got no back-pay in the deal, and the credit rating agencies viewed the contract favorably.
City Hall's top brass, including Fire Chief Samuel Peña, City Attorney Arturo Michel, Finance Director William Jones and Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin, have testified against the bill. They have expressed concern the bill lacks the parameters that similar measures in Austin and San Antonio included.
Those cities included specific provisions that arbitrators could consider and address, such as compensation, the cost of living and the revenues available to the city. Whitmire's bill, city leaders say, has no such limitations.
"It does not provide any parameters or boundaries arbitrators must consider in rendering their decisions," Turner said. "Compulsory arbitration takes control of the issues away from firefighters and the city without any criteria to ensure financial or operational conditions are considered by the arbiter in a rational manner."
Whitmire said he is confident the bill is workable as written. Lancton said the prevailing state law already includes the parameters under consideration.
The arbitration measure is not the only bill Whitmire is pushing this session involving city matters. Another bill, which would let Houston First Corp. capture a portion of state sales taxes around the George R. Brown Convention Center, is moving forward. State Comptroller Glen Hegar estimated that could be a $3 billion boon for the city's convention arm over the next 30 years.
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