Why the Building Trades Support Binding Arbitration

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 in favor of putting Binding Arbitration on the November 2026 ballot. Introduced by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis, the Safer Los Angeles County Binding Arbitration proposal would put independent experts in charge of resolving contract disputes for first responders and workers in the building trades. The LA/OC Building & Construction Trades Council, representing more than 160,000 skilled union workers across 48 local unions in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, stands firmly with our first responders on this issue, and we were proud to show up in force when the time came for the vote.

Public safety employees, including firefighters and deputy sheriffs, negotiate their contracts with Los Angeles County, and the County must negotiate in good faith with public safety employee unions to determine their wages and benefits. If the County and the unions are unable to reach an agreement, any unresolved disputes are sent to a neutral Board of Arbitrators. This Board is composed of independent experts who conduct public hearings and expedite proceedings to reduce costs. After reviewing the final proposals from both sides, the Board determines fair wages and benefits, ensuring an impartial and unbiased process. This model is not untested: more than 20 jurisdictions across California, including San Francisco and Sacramento Counties, already use binding arbitration to resolve public safety labor disputes.

There is another key reason why the Building Trades and our allies across the labor movement stand in support of binding arbitration. County public safety officers like firefighters and deputy sheriffs aren’t allowed to strike, because doing so would put public safety at risk. Without the right to strike, these workers have less leverage at the bargaining table. Binding arbitration restores balance to that process, and helps ensure they have the pay, benefits, and staffing they need to do their jobs and protect our communities.

“Binding arbitration is a matter of basic fairness for the first responders who put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities,” said Ernesto Medrano, Executive Secretary of the LA/OC Building & Construction Trades Council. “We stand in full solidarity with our brothers and sisters in public safety and across the labor movement – a fair contract process for them is a fair contract process for all of us.”

Thank you to every one of our members who showed up to support earlier this month, and we urge all Angelenos to vote yes on binding arbitration when it reaches the ballot.