Will the firefighters union fight back against an attempt to roll back San Antonio's city manager caps?

SAN ANTONIO — When the firefighters union led a charter change campaign in 2018, it was another front in a bitter, multiyear contract dispute with the city of San Antonio.

Under then-leadership of controversial President Chris Steele, the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association pushed to make it easier to overturn City Council decisions, give the union the power to force arbitration in contract negotiations, and impose salary and term limits on the position of city ​​manager.

All three made it onto the ballot, although only the latter two were approved by voters.

The caps for city managers — a salary capped at 10 times the lowest-paid city employee and only eight years in office — passed with 59% support. It was widely seen as a referendum on the union's nemesis, then-City Manager Sheryl Sculley.

Six years later, both sides have new leaders, friendlier relations and a new treaty. However, the union is considering whether to continue the fight and extend its political influence to a new campaign to change the statutes to remove these caps.

The proposed amendment, Prop C, is one of six charter amendments on the Nov. 5 ballot in San Antonio. Advocates said salary and employment caps hurt San Antonio's chances of finding top talent for the city's top administrative job.

The caps did not apply to Sculley and her base salary of $475,000, even though she announced her resignation shortly after the November 2018 election after working for the city for 13 years.

However, her successor, Erik Walsh, currently has a salary cap of $374,000 and must leave office by March 2027 unless voters decide to reverse their 2018 move.

Business has been hoping for a repeal of the caps since their passage, and some prominent names have formed a political action committee called Renew SA to support all six amendments.

The PAC expects to spend more than $1 million on the campaign.

“What if we get another one… Sculley?”

SAPFFA President Joe Jones said the union has “tremendous respect” for Walsh and Assistant City Manager Maria Villagomez, who led the city’s bargaining team in recent contract negotiations. However, he said the union viewed the caps as “a separate issue.”

“I always got along with Erik (Walsh) as a person. It's not personal either. It’s a principle,” Jones told KSAT on Thursday.

Jones pointed out the salary cap's close connection to the wages of the lowest-paid city employees. He also said the union believes in term limits and even puts them on its own presidential position.

“Looking forward, 'What if we get, for lack of a better term, another (Sheryl) Sculley?'” he asked.

Union members also put a lot of money and time into the previous campaign, Jones said.

But with less than six weeks until the election, the union has yet to make a public statement on the change.

A decision had been expected on Wednesday, but Jones said the union was still not ready to take a position after a “marathon” board meeting that also included discussion of special interest group Renew SA and the mega-PAC refer to or make a statement about Prop C.

Jones said that would likely come next week.

“Sign of Weakness”

What this further delay means depends on who you ask.

Political consultant Laura Barberena, owner of VIVA Politics, said it was “extremely unlikely” that the union would take part in the new campaign. But she was “surprised” by the lack of a decision to take an official stance.

“I think they're now more thinking about getting involved, spending some money to make sure it stays the way it is,” she said.

Christian Archer, the political strategist who led the “Go Vote No” campaign against the union’s charter changes in 2018, believes the union would have already done so if it were to get involved.

And while Archer hopes the union chooses to stay out of the election campaign this time, he said it would be “a sign of weakness.”

“I'm sure that's what's going through their minds: 'Did we put in all our strength and all our effort and all of this, you know, cause consternation in the community,' and then say, 'Well “Yeah, it’s OK now,” Archer said.

But if SAPFFA actually gets involved, Prop C would be “in big trouble,” according to Archer. The 2018 election campaign against her was one of the toughest of his career, he said.

“The firefighters are popular. They are supported,” Archer said. “So when they put their strength and their weight behind something, it's very difficult to be on the other side of the firefighters – and the police union as well.”

Prop C may already be on shaky ground. Renew SA shared polling data with KSAT that showed relatively positive sentiment toward the election proposal. However, a UTSA poll showed the vote faltered, with less than 17% of voters in favor.

Commitment could also be risky for the union. While the relationship between the city and the SAPFFA has largely been repaired, there are only three years left on her new contract and Walsh could still be in the early stages of negotiating the next contract.

“So that puts a strain on us. That plays a role,” Jones said, citing Walsh’s loyalty to the city and his passion for the community.

“I see the possibility that it could be taken personally, but it's not personal,” Jones said.

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