Updated: Details emerge as month-long Solvang strike ends with agreement between city and employees

[Updated 2:46 p.m. Thursday]

New details describe the tentative labor agreement between the city of Solvang and unionized municipal workers, who ended a month-long strike Thursday morning.

The 30 workers will receive a 6% raise this fiscal year effective the day they returned, to be followed by 5% and 4% raises in the following two years, respectively, according to sources familiar with the terms.

“It’s a victory,” said Jeff Lee, a representative of Teamsters Local 986. “The employees are happy to be back at work. Management is happy to have them back. It’s been generally positive.”

Lee wouldn’t comment on the terms of the deal. However, he did describe it as a win for the employees’ pocketbooks—providing, he said, additional immediate income amid rising gas prices as well as more pensionable income.

City Hall leaders could not immediately be reached for comment. 

The new deal resembles an offer city officials made two weeks ago. While the annual percentage increases in Wednesday’s agreement mirror the city’s Oct. 1 offer, the new deal reportedly carves out additional benefits that include the reintroduction of a paid week off during the winter holiday.

[Original story begins]

City leaders and union representatives late Wednesday announced a tentative agreement to end a month-long labor dispute in which 75% of the city workforce walked off the job demanding higher wages.

The two sides reached the deal to end the strike during a Wednesday bargaining session, according to a joint press release issued after 9 p.m.

Both sides cheered the resolution.

“The city and the union thank the city’s employees for their daily work in service to this community, and for their dedication throughout a difficult process,” according to the announcement. “They also thank Solvang’s residents, businesses and visitors for their patience throughout the dispute.”

A majority of the 30 affected employees reportedly approved and ratified the agreement Wednesday. The City Council was expected to consider finalizing the deal at its Oct. 26 meeting, according to the announcement.

The terms were not immediately available.

“The city will make the agreement’s details public during the council’s consideration,” the statement said.

Representatives from the city and from Teamsters Local 986, which represents the employees, could not immediately be reached for further comment.

The agreement follows months of unsuccessful negotiations leading up to the strike and several failed rounds of bargaining during it.

At its core, the dispute boiled down to disagreement over raises. Stung, they say, that senior City Hall leaders received 20% to 40% pay increases over the past two budget cycles, the workers in June declared a negotiations impasse.

The council in a 5-0 vote on Sept. 14 unilaterally imposed a “last, best, and final” offer City Hall had made on June 24. It gave employees annual raises of 4% over three years, plus equity adjustments for three positions identified as “below market.”

It wasn’t a raise the employees wanted. They walked off the job the next day.

More bargaining followed —including two unsuccessful rounds two weeks ago in which the union on Sept. 30 proposed a three-year contract with annual cost-of-living increases of 6% each year. City leaders balked, they said, noting it would be more costly than a previous union offer of 4% followed by two 6% increases.

The city returned to the table on Oct. 1 offering 6% to be followed by 5% then 4%, which the union rejected. Previously, the city had offered 6% followed by 4% and 4%.

Mayor David Brown in the joint statement on Wednesday called the agreement good news.

“This is good news for our employees and our community,” Brown said. “We are grateful to everyone who helped us get here, and we are glad to move forward together in service to Solvang.”

Teamsters representative Jeff Lee in the announcement said the union and employees look forward to next steps.

“This agreement is a testament to the determination and solidarity of the hardworking men and women who serve the city of Solvang,” Lee said. “These employees stood together, not just for themselves, but for the principle that public service deserves to be valued and respected.” 

In response to the strike, City Manager Randy Murphy earlier this month said the pay increases received by senior managers were necessary compensation reclassifications in the wake of a study commissioned by the city.

In June 2025, the City Council adopted the salary changes recommended in an analysis by RGS Advisors, a Carmel Valley firm.

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