City workers in Solvang went on strike on September 15, with about 75% of the municipal workforce walking off the job due to wage disputes. Union representatives from Teamsters Local 986 are demanding a three-year contract with annual increases of 6%, while city officials have offered a combination of 6%, 5%, and 4% raises over three years. The city claims that costs associated with hiring contractors and labor attorneys during the dispute will be made public, but union representatives argue that the city is being fiscally irresponsible by not meeting workers' demands.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 56119: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-04
The comments came during a press conference inside the Solvang Visitors Center on Copenhagen Drive.
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comments → come → Drive
One union representative said the city is well aware of what city workers are willing to settle for as both sides continue to discuss their next steps.
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sides → say → steps
“We’ve made it clear what the bargaining unit is willing to go back for,” Jeff Lee, a Teamsters Local 986 representative, said.
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Lee → make → what
“The city has failed to provide it.”
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city → fail → it
According to the city, the union said it wanted a three-year contract with 6% increases each year, tied to the cost of living.
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it → accord → living
City leaders, however, weren’t having it, arguing that the proposal would be more expensive than a previous union proposal of a 4% increase followed by two 6% increases.
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proposal → have → increases
The city, on the other hand, offered a 6% increase followed by a 5% increase and then 4%.
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city → offer → increase
The union declined the proposal.
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union → decline → proposal
Before that, the city had offered increases of 6%, followed by 4% and 4%.
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city → offer → %
“I was hopeful that it would finally resolve the situation, but it obviously has not,” City Manager Randy Murphy said, according to the News-Press.
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Murphy → resolve → Press
“We remain at the table, waiting for them to return.”
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them → remain → table
Olivia Uribe-Mutal, assistant to the city administrator, said the city is still willing to negotiate new contracts.
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city → say → contracts
“They’ve moved the goalposts on us,” she said.
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she → move → us
“Our door is open, and we want our people back.”
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we → want → people
The city, however, said in a press release Friday that it has offered as much as it can.
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it → say → much
Lee, meanwhile, said the City Council needs to authorize officials to bargain further in order to reach an agreement with workers.
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Council → say → workers
“At this point,” he said, according to the News-Press, “I think it’s more about playing games than anything.”
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it → say → anything
On Sept. 15, 30 workers, representing about 75% of Solvang’s municipal workforce, walked off the job.
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workers → represent → job
No further negotiations occurred as the business day drew to a close Friday.
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day → occur → close
City officials have said hourly wages are not the only factor in the negotiations, with medical insurance and other benefits also playing a role.
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insurance → say → role
Uribe-Mutal has also said that costs associated with the labor dispute, including labor attorneys and hiring contractors, will be made available to the public.
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costs → say → public
“We’re keeping track,” she told the News-Press.
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she → keep → Press
“When the dust settles on this, it will be reported out.”
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it → settle → this
Lee added that it seems the city is willing to spend whatever money it deems necessary rather than pay workers what they believe they deserve.
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they → add → what
“It’s really really getting to the point of fiscal irresponsibility,” he told the News-Press.
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he → get → Press
At the root of the disagreement are raises, according to the News-Press.
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raises → accord → Press
Workers are upset that City Hall leaders received increases of 20% to 40%, while they haven’t.
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they → upset → %
Murphy, however, says the raises aren’t what workers have described them as.
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workers → say → them
He added that they were necessary following a study by Central Valley company RGS Advisors that was commissioned by the city.
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that → add → city
The City Council adopted the raises in June 2025 after they were recommended in the study.
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they → adopt → study
“It’s never been about the money,” Murphy said Friday, according to the News-Press.
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Murphy → say → Press
“The objection is not, ‘What can we afford and what can we not afford right now?’
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we → afford → what
This about what the study said.”
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study → say → what
The city argued that salaries for senior management positions needed to be brought in line with market rates, while rank-and-file positions did not require the same adjustments.
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positions → argue → adjustments
Officials added Friday that what they were offering workers was more than enough.
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offering → add → workers
The Aporia
