By Robert Haugh

Santa Clara firefighters won a 6 percent salary increase, but the City Council rejected an effort Tuesday night to make the raise retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026.  That’s when firefighters were still working without a contract after months of drawn-out negotiations.

Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Councilmember Kelly Cox pushed to backdate the raise to the start of the year. 

“We have approved retro pay and compensation, including this year,” said Cox. “In fact, it’s been applied in different contracts and with individuals.”

Cox made the motion to amend the contract. “I think this is really about integrity,” she said.

Gillmor seconded Cox’s motion.

“We did it (retroactive pay) recently in the last couple of years, including for the City Attorney’s and City Manager’s contracts,” Gillmor said. It’s a matter of fairness.“

Santa Clara currently has the highest-paid City Manager’s Office in the Mission City’s history. 

Vice Mayor Albert Gonzalez supported the retroactive pay motion. 

But it failed on a 3-3 vote, leaving firefighters without the retroactive pay Gillmor and Cox said they had earned because they continued work during the long contract fight.

Councilmembers Karen Hardy, Suds Jain, and Kevin Park voted against giving the firefighters retroactive pay. 

The council still approved the new labor deal, which runs from Jan. 1, 2026 through Dec. 31, 2029. 

Under the agreement, firefighters receive a 6 percent raise, followed by additional raises of 4.5 percent in 2027, 3.5 percent in 2028, and 3.5 percent in 2029.

The City Staff report says the firefighters’ previous contract expired on Dec. 31, 2025, and that the City and the union met about 11 times, including mediation, before reaching a deal earlier this month.

Councilmember Raj Chahal was absent from Tuesday night’s meeting again.