Columbia labor unions claim city is failing to prioritize workers
Mitchell Kaminski
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia held its annual labor group presentations Monday night, hosting union representatives from the Columbia Police Officers Association, Columbia Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 1055 and LiUNA Local 955, which represents a large portion of the city’s workforce.
All three unions expressed concerns over how the city was handling negotiations.
The Annual Labor Group Presentation allows the City Council an opportunity to hear about how negotiations with city staff are going, since labor negotiations are primarily handled by the city administrator’s office. Dozens of city employees were in attendance on Monday night.
Columbia is looking to balance its 2026 budget, as it projects to draw $31.1 million from its cash reserves during the next six years, as sales tax revenue falls short of expectations and employee wages and benefits continue to rise. However, union representatives feel that the city is not prioritizing its employees.
Columbia Police Officers’ Association
Don Weaver, a lawyer who represents CPOA, told the City Council on Monday that they want to see changes to next year’s budget, calling the financial issues cited by the city “fabricated” and adding that if the city wants to prioritize public safety, it should be prioritizing working with CPD to help address its staffing shortage.
On May 5th, Columbia Police Chief Jill Schulde told ABC 17 News that the department currently has 15 officer vacancies and 2 sergeant vacancies.
“CPOA is asking the City to implement a pay step plan (predictable pay adjustments commensurate with time of successful service) to ensure CPD can attract and retain the best and brightest,” Weaver wrote in a statement to ABC 17 News. “Implementing long-term solutions to CPD’s staffing crisis is an essential step toward improving community safety.”
The lack of a pay step plan was a point of emphasis for Weaver on Monday night, who told the council that most progressive cities in Missouri have a step plan. He added the CPOA has only had one meeting with the city since submitting its plan.
“It would be good for the city, and for CPOA members and for the community to give officers and sergeants predictable pay increases,” Weaver told the council.
Columbia Professional Firefighters LOCAL 1055
The Columbia Professional Firefighters’ union pointed to several longstanding issues within the city, including stagnant wages that are not competitive with comparable markets, salary compression caused by past wage freezes, and ongoing challenges with recruitment and retention as employees leave for better pay and benefits elsewhere.
“We’re at a place where we’re not making progress and the city has decided to hit the panic button, which always comes back to the employees,” Local 1055 President Zack Privette told the city council on Monday.
Privette asked the council to build its next budget around employees to help meet inflation and CPI rates with wage adjustments. He says that employees who work to earn advanced training do not get compensated, and because of this, he feels the city is taking advantage of employees.
Privette also added that multiple classes of employees within the fire department are earning the same pay regardless of how long they have been with the city, which has hurt their recruitment efforts as employees continue to leave for better pay and benefits elsewhere.
LiUNA Local 955
Local 955 union claims it proposed a 7% adjustment to the current pay scale. The proposal also called for all eligible employees currently on the step scale to receive a one-step increase.
Employees not currently on the step scale would move to the closest step without a reduction in pay, followed by a one-step increase. In addition, the union requested that three steps be added to the top of each pay scale and that the merit process be reviewed with the city administrator. According to the union, the city administrator rejected the proposal and offered no economic counter.
Andrew Hutchinson, the public employees union representative for LiUNA Local 955, told the City Council that Columbia is one of the only cities he has worked with that offers no cost-of-living adjustment.
Hutchinson told ABC 17 News that they will be meeting with the city again on Wednesday morning.
ABC 17 News reached out to the City of Columbia for comment. Check back for updates.