Fresno City Hall — Photo: Jeff Stiefer — CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fresno City Council Met Behind Closed Doors with Every Major Union — Here’s What We Know
On November 7, 2024, Fresno’s City Council went into closed session with eleven separate employee unions — covering everyone from police officers and firefighters to airport security and transit workers.
The session, listed on the council’s agenda as Item ID 24-1507, was held under Government Code Section 54957.6. The city’s negotiators were Jennifer Misner and Sumeet Malhi.
The unions at the table included the Fresno Police Officers Association (both rank-and-file and management), firefighters (Local 202, both basic and management units), the city employees association, transit workers (ATU Local 1027), electrical workers (IBEW Local 100), operating engineers (Local 39), professional employees, management employees, and airport public safety officers.
The agenda entry itself contains no details about what was actually discussed — closed-session items rarely do. The council’s action was listed as “DISCUSSED,” with no public outcome reported.
The Breakdown
- The meeting was held under Government Code Section 54957.6, which allows cities to meet privately with union negotiators.
- Fresno has eleven separate bargaining units, meaning eleven different groups of city workers were represented in this session.
- No dollar figures, proposals, or outcomes were made public as part of this agenda item.
What This Means for You
The city met with all eleven unions at once, but the agenda provides no information about what was discussed or what proposals were made. The two negotiators whose names are on this closed-session notice — Jennifer Misner and Sumeet Malhi — represented the city.
What to Watch
Watch for any labor agreements that come forward for a public vote in the coming months. Those agreements will show what this closed-door meeting was about and what terms were negotiated.
