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Back paid to be effective September 2025. <br />Residents and union employees are asking: <br />If the City truly had no money, why were these increases scheduled — and <br />why only after union negotiations were completed? <br />We keep hearing the justification that these raises are necessary to “retain top <br />talent.” But what does that say about the people who actually keep this city <br />running every day? Are Pleasanton’s frontline union employees not <br />considered “top talent”? Are their contributions and expertise somehow less <br />valuable than those at the top? And if these union employees aren’t <br />considered top talent, then why are they still employed with the City? <br />Also the frontline workers, non-union temporary, part-time employees — the <br />people who support programs, events, and daily operations — received no <br />cost-of-living or market adjustment at all. But the management team does? <br />Their pay was increased only to comply with California’s minimum wage law, <br />not because the City chose to recognize or value their work. <br />What does the City think this will do to already deflated employee morale? <br />Just this month, the City created a brand-new management position — <br />overseeing organizational development and employee relations — with a <br />salary of around $180,000. Perhaps this position wouldn’t have been <br />necessary if the City had treated employees with a little respect and <br />transparency. <br />At the same time, the City has discovered a $7 million surplus, raising even <br />more questions about the narrative of financial crisis given to both union <br />employees and residents. <br />This is a pattern many residents now recognize: <br />Residents sacrifice. <br />Union employees sacrifice. <br />Services are cut. <br />But leadership at the top continues to receive increases and market <br />adjustments. <br />The people who actually keep Pleasanton running — library staff, parks <br />workers, maintenance crews, program teams, and public safety personnel — <br />are doing more with less every single day. Many cannot afford to live in the <br />city they serve. <br />Yet Pleasanton was recently given a national award for “financial