Get ready to vote

• What’s at stake
• What your vote means
• Understanding Measure A
• Why now?
• What supporters say 
• What opponents say
• Potential financial impact
• Follow the money

Public safety employee unions and L.A. County officials are asking voters to change the county charter to require labor disputes with workers, including firefighters and sheriff’s deputies, to be resolved by three-member arbitration panels.

The Board of Supervisors put the measure on the ballot to “level the playing field” in the contract negotiations between the county and unionized public safety employees, who are prohibited by law from going on strike.

What’s at stake

This L.A. County charter amendment would let panels of arbitrators have the final say on contract matters like salary increases and working conditions for nearly 17,000 county public safety employees, if good-faith negotiations between unions and county government break down. Under the current law, when disputes can’t be resolved, the county can impose its best and final offer, even if the union disagrees with it.

The proposed binding arbitration process would represent a major shift in how L.A. County handles labor relations with firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, lifeguards and civilian public safety employees at the county’s Fire Department, Sheriff’s Department and coroner’s office.

Official title on the ballot: Los Angeles County Charter Amendment Reiterating Good Faith Negotiation Obligations And Establishing Impartial Binding Arbitration For Certified Public Safety Employee Disputes

Language you’ll see on your ballot:

What your vote means

• A "yes" vote means: You want to add a new binding arbitration process to resolve labor disputes between L.A. County and its unionized public safety employees.
  
• A "no" vote means: You do not want to add a new binding arbitration process to resolve labor disputes between L.A. County and its unionized public safety employees. The county will remain legally allowed to settle disputes with a best and final offer.

Understanding Measure A

Under Measure A, if negotiations reach an impasse, labor disputes go to a three-member arbitration panel. The county would choose one member, the union would choose another member and both parties would agree on a third member, according to the proposed charter amendment.

The panel would hear the dispute and issue a binding decision. County officials say it’s meant to be a rare last resort to resolve disputes. The county and union would be required to share the costs of arbitration.

The measure needs a simple majority of L.A. County voter support to pass. It would go into effect 10 days after the election results are tallied.

If approved, the proposed binding arbitration process would cover 14 bargaining units across six union groups.

Why now?

The unions launched a signature-gathering campaign earlier this year to get the measure on the ballot even if the county’s Board of Supervisors did not formally support it, according to campaign finance records.

L.A. County is currently bargaining with one of the unions, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS), whose salary contract expired in January 2025.

The public safety employees supporting binding arbitration say staffing shortages and wage competition from smaller jurisdictions are driving burnout and damaging public safety in L.A. County.

In February and March, the Board of Supervisors voted, 4-0, to draft a measure and put it on the Nov. 3 ballot.

What supporters say 

The primary supporters of the measure are the labor unions who would be covered by the arbitration process. They’ve co-sponsored a campaign called Safer Los Angeles County, arguing binding arbitration will “take politics out of public safety pay decisions” and “put independent experts in charge of first responder wages.”

• Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS), representing more than 8,000 L.A. County sheriff’s deputies and L.A. County district attorney investigators.
• Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association (PPOA), representing over 8,000 employees, including forensic ID specialists, nonsworn jail custody staff and L.A. County Medical Examiner-Coroner investigators and supervisors.
• Los Angeles County Fire Fighters Local 1014 (IAFF), representing over 3,000 firefighters, specialists and supervisors.
• Los Angeles County Lifeguard Association (LACOLA), representing about 800 lifeguards and supervisors.
• Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council*, representing employees doing construction, maintenance and related skilled-craft work for L.A. County departments. Unlike for the public safety unions, these construction bargaining units are currently allowed to strike. If the ballot measure passes, they would be prohibited from striking.

Four of five members of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors supported the measure. “A fair and efficient bargaining process is necessary to maintain competitive wages and benefits and improve recruitment,” Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in February, describing the change as “a long time coming.” Supervisor Holly Mitchell abstained.

What opponents say

There is no organized opposition to the measure, but accountability advocates have warned county officials to be cautious using binding arbitration with law enforcement employees.

“Allowing police unions such as ALADS to utilize binding arbitration procedures frustrates transparency and allows law enforcement to siphon off more resources without it going through the regular public channels,” Allison Rubinfeld, then a fellow with the Loyola Marymount University Law School’s Anti-Racism Center, said during a public meeting in February.

“While arbitrators are theoretically neutral third parties, their actions have no real democratic accountability,” Rubinfeld added.

Potential financial impact

L.A. County’s employee salaries and benefits totaled more than $23 billion last year, according to the L.A. County Chief Executive Office. Employees covered by the proposed binding arbitration system represent about 17% of all county employees. The county budget has been strained by federal healthcare funding cuts, wildfire disaster recovery efforts and large legal settlements over child sex abuse claims.

Before the Board of Supervisors approved the measure, then Acting Chief Executive Officer Joe Nicchitta warned that arbitration awards not tied to the county's budget policies or financial projections could strain reserves, damage credit standing and limit the county's ability to fund other priorities.

“Voter-approved mandatory arbitration has caused significant financial disruption and even prompted bankruptcy for cities in California and other parts of the country,” Nicchitta said in February.

He cited Vallejo and San Luis Obispo, cities where voters approved then later repealed binding arbitration.

Follow the money

Through political committees, the union representing sheriff’s deputies has contributed more than $2 million to campaign committees supporting the binding arbitration measure, according to campaign finance filings through mid-September.

The unions representing firefighters and other sworn and civilian public safety personnel have each contributed more than $1 million.

The California Association of Highway Patrolmen (who aren’t covered by the change) contributed $250,000. The unions representing lifeguards (who are) contributed $150,000.

Further reading

• Los Angeles County, California, Measure A, Public Safety Employee Disputes Measure (November 2026) - Ballotpedia
• Civilian panel sues LA County Sheriff’s Department over failure to release use-of-force documents | LAist
• LA County workers shocked and outraged by CEO’s $2M payment, union leaders say | LAist