Los Angeles County voters are being asked on Nov. 3 to decide Measure A, a ballot measure that would replace the county’s final-offer labor system with binding arbitration for certain public safety workers. If it passes, stalled contract talks would no longer end with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors making the last call.
The measure would cover bargaining units representing deputy sheriffs, firefighters, lifeguards and medical examiners, all of whom are legally prohibited from striking. Instead of a unilateral decision by the board, deadlocked negotiations would go to a three-member arbitration panel: one representative chosen by the county, one by the union and a neutral chairperson. That panel would issue a legally binding ruling on wages, benefits and working conditions, which is why the measure is drawing close attention now.
Kathryn Barger said she supports Measure A because public safety is a core responsibility of government and must never be compromised by political agendas. She said the change would help ensure that funding for essential public safety services remains in place and that residents do not lose services because of shifting political priorities. Her backers argue the county should not be able to use labor politics to undercut the people who respond when things go wrong.
Steven Greenhut sees the measure very differently. He said it takes away accountability from elected officials, who must weigh public safety demands against the county’s broader finances. If a bargaining unit pushes for a large raise, he said, county leaders would still have to make hard choices — but Measure A would move those choices out of their hands and give unions more leverage in negotiations.
The warning from opponents is not abstract. In 2007, an arbitrator’s decision blocked the city of Vallejo from making fire department spending cuts during a severe fiscal crunch, and the city filed for bankruptcy eight months later. Vallejo voters later repealed the city’s binding arbitration rule in 2010, a reminder that the promise of labor peace can collide with budget reality when public money is tight.
That is the sharpest divide behind Measure A: supporters say binding arbitration protects essential services from political pressure, while opponents say it weakens fiscal control and blunts accountability at the very moment county leaders are supposed to make the hardest decisions. Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell abstained from the vote to place the measure on the ballot, leaving voters to settle whether that authority should stay with elected officials or move to arbitration.
