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Long Beach Reaches Tentative Labor Agreement with IBEW
By Staff Writer
Published on Mon, Oct 5, 2026
A tentative three-year labor agreement has been reached between the City of Long Beach and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which represents about 874 City employees.
The agreement includes a total of 9% in general salary increases over the three-year contract for all IBEW-represented employees. If officially approved by the Long Beach City Council at its Oct. 6 meeting, the agreement will run through Sept. 30, 2029.
Beyond the salary increases, the agreement includes changes to winter holiday services. Now, noncritical and nonessential City services may close each year between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The exact services affected will be determined by the City Manager or appropriate appointing authority.
Employees who aren't needed to work during the holiday closure would either take unpaid authorized leave or use accrued paid time, such as vacation, personal holiday or banked time off.
The City says the closure is expected to save money and is similar to holiday closures used by some other local governments.
The labor agreement also includes changes to several employee benefits and workplace provisions. Employees would be able to bank up to 120 hours of overtime as compensatory time, while the City would make changes to skill pay and certain special compensation, including uniform and boot allowances and rest periods. Funding for the City's Education Assistance Program also would carry over under the new agreement.
The new contract comes as Long Beach continues working to fill vacant positions and compete with other cities for employees. The City's job vacancy rate is currently about 17%.
The costs associated with the new agreement are already included in the City's multiyear financial forecast, and officials said the recently adopted Fiscal Year 2027 budget remains structurally balanced.
Prior to reaching this agreement, City officials and IBEW representatives held four meetings since April 2026. Members of the IBEW voted to ratify the agreement on Sept. 1, 2026.
