In early December, the City Council voted unanimously to send a draft of the contract with Austin Police Department's back to the negotiating table. Less than a week later, the APA decided that they would not negotiate, and asked the Council to extend their benefits, while returning to the basic guidelines under Texas Civil Service Code Ch. 143.

When the Council voted, it was because over 230 Austinites showed up to City Hall to demand better policing for Austin, instead of a contract that offered cosmetic reforms in return for massive bonuses and protection in cases of officer abuse and misconduct (as shown in this video clip featuring commentary made by the APD union's negotiator about Breaion King's assault). The majority of basic accountability and transparency reforms sought by a wide coalition of impacted community groups and civil rights advocates have been outright rejected in this draft of the contract. The contract provides the APD with a 10% wage increase over the next 5 years and an extra $300 per month "stipend" for being a patrol officer, yet made very few significant improvements for the community. This is despite the fact that Austin was one of only 6 of the largest 100 U.S. cities to fail ALL accountability metrics measured by national police accountability organization Campaign Zero. Austin deserves better than this.

GET INVOLVED:

Call your Council Member and Mayor Adler (look up this information here) and tell them why you think it is important to reject this version of the contract. See these links for more background on police accountability in Austin and the meet and confer process.

When you call, ask to speak with the Council Member. If they are unavailable, ask to speak with the member of their staff whose job it is to care about policing and public safety.

SAMPLE SCRIPT:

Hi, my name is ______________. I'm calling to talk with the Council Member about the police contract. Is she/he available?

I'm calling to thank  you for your courageous vote on the proposed police contract. I'm concerned about the lack of basic accountability, transparency, and oversight for APD and how much we pay for such low standards.

[Add any additional information you would like to mention from the resources above.]

I believe in a vision of public safety that protects ALL Austinites and doesn't fund police instead of critical programs that advance racial equity. Austin deserves and can achieve better!

City Council Phone Number:
512-978-21_ _ The Council District number are the last 2 digits:

00 Mayor Steve Adler (elected city-wide)
01 Ora Houston
02 Delia Garza
03 Sabino “Pio” Renteria
04 Greg Casar
05 Ann Kitchen
06 Jimmy Flannigan
07 Leslie Pool
08 Ellen Troxclair
09 Kathie Tovo
10 Alison Alter

After you call, fill out the form to the right and tell us how it went!

Other community groups and advocacy organizations working to reject the current version of the police contract include Austin Justice Coalition, the ACLU of Texas, Black Sovereign Nation, Communities of Color United, Counter Balance ATX, Grassroots Leadership, Texas Civil Rights Project and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.