Despite recent talks, city proposal, Solvang workers' strike goes on

By Mike Chaldu · Mon Oct 05 2026

Teamsters Local 986 members vote down latest offer, continuing work stoppage that began Sept. 15

Thirty-one City of Solvang employees are entering their fourth week on strike after the city's latest contract offer was rejected by the workers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 986.

According to a city statement, the city and union returned to the bargaining table on Wednesday, Sept. 30, where the union proposed cost-of-living increases of 6% in each of the next three years (6-6-6), while the City Council, after a special closed session meeting on Thursday, Oct. 1, came back with an offer of 6%, 5%, and 4% (6-5-4) over that time. In the initial offers on Sept. 14, the day before the workers went on strike, the union asked for a 4-6-6 contract, while the city offered 6-4-4, which the union rejected.

"It's a bit disappointing to be here today to tell you we don't have a deal with the union," said Mayor Dave Brown during an afternoon news conference Friday, Oct. 2, at the Solvang Visitors Center. "It's been hard, it's been hard on our employees, hard on the families, hard on our whole town, and it's been disruptive and unfortunate."

The strike happened after several months of negotiations dating back to April of this year. According to a report submitted by Solvang Assistant City Attorney Dave Fleishman, the city and union met on at least eight occasions beginning in April, with each party exchanging proposals for a new labor agreement. The last labor agreement with the union expired on June 30.

Despite multiple proposals from each party, the parties were unable to reach agreement, and on June 24, the city presented the union its last, best, final offer (LBFO). The city’s LBFO consisted of a three-year agreement, with cost-of-living increases of four percent (4%) each year of the agreement, and equity adjustments recommended for three positions in an independent compensation and class study prepared by Regional Government Services. The union countered with a 6% raise.

After the sides couldn't agree on the numbers on Sept. 14, the city put the matter up to a public hearing at the Monday, Sept. 14, meeting, which saw the City Council pass a one-year 4% raise with a unanimous vote.

The workers then walked off the job on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and have been picketing by Solvang Park ever since.

The workers also drew notice on Saturday, Sept. 19, when the Teamsters Local 986 had an entry in the Danish Days Parade. Workers and union officials marched down the parade route with picket signs, and following a large pickup carrying signs explaining the workers' position.

At the Friday, Oct. 2, press conference, Olivia Uribe-Mutal, the city's assistant to the city manager and public information officer, went through a timeline of the talks between the city and the union, and said the 6-5-4 offer was a fair one in the city's view and it was taken aback somewhat by the union's 6-6-6 offer.

"Back on Sept. 14, the union's proposal was a 4-6-6, and now they are at 6-6-6, I feel they moved the goalposts on us," she said. "The 6-5-4 that the city offered today was the most it could authorize."

One of the union's sticking points of the cost-of-living increases was that they paled in comparison to increases given to city management and unrepresented workers, which the Teamsters estimated at a 25% to 40% range. However, the city didn't consider those numbers raises or increases.

"Those [numbers] were simply results from a salary study determining compensation for certain management positions and reclassification of others," Uribe-Mutal said. "So they were not in addition to cost-of-living increases. What the study found was that for over 20 years, management pay was not brought up to what was comparable within the area. What those numbers were were simply putting that in place. The study found the other positions in the city were compensated within the study’s measure."

Four days before its latest offer was voted down, City Council again heard from striking employees and their supporters before closed session in the council's regular Monday, Sept. 28, meeting.

In public comment, before councilmembers went into closed session, workers and other citizens expressed frustration not only at the work stoppage, but that, in their view, the city had not reached out to engage in talks to that point.

Candance Libera, the markets and event coordinator for Solvang Parks and Rec, was the first of nine speakers to address the council before closed session.

"We're on day 14 of strike, and have stood on that line that none of us wanted to be on," Libera said. "At this point, it's no longer only about a contract; it's about trust.

Each day this strikes goes on makes rebuilding trust more difficult."

Libera went on to say the workers "continue to feel undervalued, unheard, and disrespected. We're not just names on a payroll, or numbers on a budget. We're asking to feel that our work matters too."

Jennifer Cabello told the council they don't realize the expertise they're losing with the strike.

"I want you to think about what you're paying for," she said. "These people demonstrating on the streets, just because some of them haven't been to college doesn’t mean we don’t have specialized skills. It's important to retain our employees, because when you lose them, you lose institutional knowledge."

Local business owner Aaron Peterson spoke of his desire for the sides to get a deal done.

"I'm not taking sides," Petersen said. "I own businesseses here, and everyone has Solvang at its best heart. You need to get this done, because this gives us a black eye. Sit in a room, get it done."

On Oct. 2, striking workers were back on the picket line demonstrating in front of Solvang Park after the strike vote.

One of them was Elisa Monroy of the Solvang Parks and Recreation Department who noted that the big obstacles to a settlement are the COL increases and that the fact the city wasn't offering the raises to be retroactive to July 1, when the new contract was supposed to start.

"We went with 6-6-6 with retro pay we wouldn’t have taken less than that, and it’s pretty near unanimous with all of us," Monroy said. "We voted down the 6-5-4 today. Things are getting more expensive as we go, and thought they were going to accept that?"

Monroy, who works with the senior center and runs the blood drives, admits its tough to not be able to help out and work with the people at those venues.

"I hate not getting back to work with the people I do on a daily basis, I feel like I’m letting these people down," she said. "But they are all really, really supportive, and the people are like ‘don’t worry about us, you’re doing what’s right.'”

Union Representative Jeff Lee, who arrived at the picket line Friday afternoon after a meeting, said he'll wait for the City Council to come forward with another offer.

"We told them what it was going to take [to make a deal] and they didn’t bring that," he said. "We’ve confirmed that we were offered every penny the city attorney had authorization from the council to give, so until the council another meeting, they have nothing to offer, they made that clear."

Monroy said, "the ball's in their [City Council's] court. Until then, we'll be here from 8 to 4 during the week."