San Jose Police Officers Reject City's Contract Offer, 3 Percent Raise
SAN JOSE (KCBS) — In a near unanimous decision, San Jose police officers have rejected the city's latest one-year contract offer, which included a three-percent raise.
Officers who have been asking for a six-percent raise rejected the offer by 954 to 2.
"The vote sends a clear message that San Jose police are united in the fact that we know low pay equals officers leaving, a rise in crime and skyrocketing response times. It now takes over 20 minutes to get a response to a priority 2 call. We know that this is due to not enough officers in San Jose," said James Gonzales, board member of the San Jose Police Officers' Association.
Mayor Chuck Reed told KCBS he was disappointed.
"We're trying to give our police officers a raise. They've rejected the three-percent offer, but hopefully they'll get back to the bargaining table so we can talk about how to get them the money we already set aside for raises," Reed said.
The city had asked the union to put the proposal up for a vote without recommending a "no" vote, which the union refused to do.
Meanwhile, officers are continuing to leave the department in droves. More than 275 have left in the last two years.
San Jose Cops Reject City's Contract Offer Of 3 Percent Raise
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