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Record of Proceedings

Syracuse Common Council Labor Agreement & HR Update - September 16, 2026

Public Meetings — Wednesday, September 16, 2026

BodySyracuse, New York

SessionPublic Meetings

DateWednesday, September 16, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 48:38

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:29

Good morning everyone.

0:30

Thank you for coming today.

0:32

This is uh a labor agreement, HR educational meeting today.

0:37

Um we're here today with Councillor Majoke.

0:40

We're here today with Councillor Martinave.

0:43

We're here today with Councillor Helen Hudson, myself, Councillor Rashida Kawa, Councilor Um Patrona Joan Rowser, President Paniagua.

0:51

Um she just stepped out, Councillor Moore, Councillor Manto, and we're here with head of HR, um Richard.

0:59

I say Richard A, because I never say your name right.

1:02

I'm sorry.

1:03

And we're here with Deputy Mayor Um Corey Jisco.

1:05

Thank you.

1:07

Thank you, Councilor, and thanks to the council for allowing us the opportunity to provide an update on where we are with our labor agreements.

1:15

So uh just wanted to highlight um the ongoing in negotiations that we have.

1:21

So right now we're under negotiation and in uh conversation with local 400 whose contract expired January 1st of this year.

1:30

As noted, local 400 spans a number of departments.

1:34

Um negotiations began in April of last year.

1:37

We had our first mediation session last week.

1:41

Um and our next session will be in October.

1:45

Crew leaders there expired at the same time.

1:47

Uh they also span a number of departments.

1:50

Negotiations began around the same time last year, and mediation is set to begin in October, as uh the crew leaders have declared impasse.

2:01

CSEA, same story.

2:04

Uh expired January 1st of this year.

2:06

They span a number of departments as well, um, probably more than I think any other union.

2:12

Negotiations began in May of this year, and we're actually uh in negotiations today.

2:17

The rest of the HR team is in City Hall right now sitting down with CSCA to continue contract negotiations.

2:25

Uh firefighters, the rank and file firefighters, their contract expired July 1st.

2:30

Uh negotiations began in May, and those are ongoing as well.

2:36

So these are either pending or completed negotiations because there are some units that are under contract middle managers.

2:44

Um we have come to an agreement with middle managers at the end of last year.

2:49

Um so they're under contract through the end of 2028.

2:53

Local 280, the deputy chiefs of fire.

2:56

There's also expired July 1st, and they are just reaching out now to start scheduling negotiations.

3:02

Skilled trades, their contract expired January 1st, their agreement as before council, the tentative agreement.

3:08

Um if approved, that contract would go through the end of 2028.

3:13

Crossing guards, which are their own separate union.

3:16

Um their own unit expired um July 1st.

3:20

Uh there aren't any current negotiations scheduled for crossing guards.

3:25

Um, usually they follow CSEA, so I think once the SEA were able to reach an agreement with them, I would imagine crossing guards will be in that mix.

3:34

And then the PBA contract expires um January 1st of 2028.

3:38

So we anticipate negotiations for that contract to begin in the second quarter of next year.

3:45

And that's a presentation.

3:50

Wow.

3:51

Thank you.

3:51

Um that uh deputy mayor.

3:54

So just for uh the public knowledge and information, can you explain to them what impasse is?

4:00

So and Rick, this is obviously your area of expertise.

4:04

Yeah, so impasse is um essentially when we feel like we can't make any more movement in a contract.

4:11

It can be declared by either party or both parties.

4:13

Um, but at that point you're essentially saying we don't feel there's any value in meeting it at this point.

4:19

Um and then there's a a process for that through PERB.

4:22

It varies depending on um contract.

4:25

So um public safety has interest arbitration where it goes to arbitration um for the rest of the contracts, it goes to mediation and then fact finding and then um through the process.

4:35

So local 400, January of 2026, and we're going on 2027 in a few months, and then that contract when you sign it will only be to 2028.

4:47

But we're gonna be in 2027 in a couple of months.

4:51

What is that?

4:53

Potentially.

4:54

So um there are different uh we can extend contracts as as far as we'd like, so we can sign one year deals, we can sign five-year deals.

5:00

So we can sign one year deals, we can sign five year deals.

5:03

Um so with 400, um I I don't want to misspeak.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████51%

Workforce Development██████████████████████████████34%

Affordable Housing██████████11%

Procedural██2%

Health Awareness██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Syracuse Common Council Labor Agreement & HR Update - September 16, 2026

On September 16, 2026, the Syracuse Common Council convened a labor agreement and HR educational meeting with the administration, including Head of HR Richard and Deputy Mayor Corey Jisco, to receive an update on ongoing union negotiations, wage comparability with peer cities, and to discuss recruitment and retention for public-facing city workers.

Discussion Items

Labor negotiations update: HR reported negotiations span a number of departments, began in May 2026, and are ongoing, including on the meeting date. Skilled trades, whose contract expired January 1, have a tentative agreement before council. Some units are under contract through the end of 2028.
Impasse explained: Deputy Mayor Jisco described impasse as a point where a party essentially says there is no value in meeting further. He noted the rules of engagement signed at the start of negotiations prohibit either party from publicly discussing proposal terms.
Wage comparability: HR said the city compares itself to Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Ithaca, and Yonkers, and that Syracuse is within a dollar or two of Ithaca for almost every position, but less than Ithaca. Councillor Manto questioned whether comparables are skewed because the county and city school district draw from a larger pool and some unions do not have residency requirements.
Pay differential: Councillor Jones asked whether the pay difference between the city, county, and city school district is roughly $4; the difference was not confirmed in the transcript.
Living wage: Councillor Hudson clarified the city's living wage ordinance, passed in 2012 and updated annually, sets the 2026 rate at $16.92 per hour for jobs providing benefits and $19.98 without benefits. Councillor Hudson and Councillor Moore expressed concern that this is not enough for workers to afford housing and basic repairs in the current market.
Health care value: Councillor Hudson noted the city's insurance plan has a 97.5% actuarial value, which she called "unheard of in New York State." HR noted the plan is worth the equivalent of a $26,000 health insurance plan even for someone who never uses it, while the city pays less than the cost of a bronze plan. Health care costs about one-third of the overall city budget and continues to rise.
Charter priorities and public-facing workers: Councillor Moore stated that under the charter, the three major responsibilities are DPW, fire, and police, and that the public most depends on these workers for safety and cleanliness. She and Councillor Hudson raised concerns about winter snow removal if staffing fails, noted many workers are 30 to 45 years old, and said many DPW workers work two jobs.
Crossing guards: Councillor Hudson said crossing guards have been overlooked too long, risk their lives directing traffic, receive no benefits, and should be given a living wage increase and some form of benefit or credit.
Ideas for recruitment and retention: Councillor Moore suggested thinking outside the box, including twice-yearly bonuses for workers, while stressing "our people are first." Deputy Mayor Jisco reported that Mayor Owens has tasked HR with exploring an employee housing portal and remitted tuition with higher education institutions. Councillors discussed concerns that CDL drivers, who are more transient, could take a sign-on bonus and leave.

Key Outcomes

The administration stated it is "ready to partner" on a number of scenarios the council sees fit, including a targeted approach to address wages or recruitment.
Councillors requested that the administration consider sharing its proposals with the council for review.
No formal votes were taken at this educational meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming today. This is uh a labor agreement, HR educational meeting today. Um we're here today with Councillor Majoke. We're here today with Councillor Martinave. We're here today with Councillor Helen Hudson, myself, Councillor Rashida Kawa, Councilor Um Patrona Joan Rowser, President Paniagua. Um she just stepped out, Councillor Moore, Councillor Manto, and we're here with head of HR, um Richard. I say Richard A, because I never say your name right. I'm sorry. And we're here with Deputy Mayor Um Corey Jisco. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor, and thanks to the council for allowing us the opportunity to provide an update on where we are with our labor agreements. So uh just wanted to highlight um the ongoing in negotiations that we have. So right now we're under negotiation and in uh conversation with local 400 whose contract expired January 1st of this year. As noted, local 400 spans a number of departments. Um negotiations began in April of last year. We had our first mediation session last week. Um and our next session will be in October. Crew leaders there expired at the same time. Uh they also span a number of departments. Negotiations began around the same time last year, and mediation is set to begin in October, as uh the crew leaders have declared impasse. CSEA, same story. Uh expired January 1st of this year. They span a number of departments as well, um, probably more than I think any other union. Negotiations began in May of this year, and we're actually uh in negotiations today. The rest of the HR team is in City Hall right now sitting down with CSCA to continue contract negotiations. Uh firefighters, the rank and file firefighters, their contract expired July 1st. Uh negotiations began in May, and those are ongoing as well. So these are either pending or completed negotiations because there are some units that are under contract middle managers. Um we have come to an agreement with middle managers at the end of last year. Um so they're under contract through the end of 2028. Local 280, the deputy chiefs of fire. There's also expired July 1st, and they are just reaching out now to start scheduling negotiations. Skilled trades, their contract expired January 1st, their agreement as before council, the tentative agreement. Um if approved, that contract would go through the end of 2028. Crossing guards, which are their own separate union. Um their own unit expired um July 1st. Uh there aren't any current negotiations scheduled for crossing guards. Um, usually they follow CSEA, so I think once the SEA were able to reach an agreement with them, I would imagine crossing guards will be in that mix. And then the PBA contract expires um January 1st of 2028. So we anticipate negotiations for that contract to begin in the second quarter of next year. And that's a presentation. Wow. Thank you. Um that uh deputy mayor. So just for uh the public knowledge and information, can you explain to them what impasse is? So and Rick, this is obviously your area of expertise. Yeah, so impasse is um essentially when we feel like we can't make any more movement in a contract. It can be declared by either party or both parties. Um, but at that point you're essentially saying we don't feel there's any value in meeting it at this point.

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