Santa Maria Fighters issue statement Sunday against City’s decision to halt negotiations

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Members of the Santa Maria Firefighters Local 2020 (Local 2020) spoke against the City of Santa Maria's decision to end negotiations and declare an impasse Sunday.

Local 2020 claimed a lack of good faith in the negotiation process by the City and said after months of delay that they weren't able to negotiate at all after just two meetings and a substandard offer.

Through these measures, Local 2020 mentioned the city council is failing to act in the public's best interest by failing to pay them a proper wage compared to the rest of the county's firefighters.

Local 2020 claims that the city fails to recruit and retain firefighters due to this lack of compensation and other challenges in filling roles for experienced firefighters.

Local 2020 also believes that residents should receive transparent reports on how the city has responded and how its agency is handling such a situation.