Early voting begins Monday, April 19, and continues through Tuesday, April 27. Election Day is Saturday, May 1. Below is a quick rundown of each proposition on ballots within the city of Austin, with our recommendations in red. For more information visit www.VoteTravis.com.
Proposition A:
Collective bargaining for firefighters
FOR
Would require city and firefighters association to participate in binding arbitration when an agreement cannot be reached through collective bargaining regarding working conditions.
Pro: Saves taxpayer money by discouraging expensive litigation as a first step in solving disputes such as labor contracts (e.g. the lengthy dispute that took years to settle over the last decade).
Con: Could greatly accelerate the number of complaints regarding working conditions and give labor unions additional power when negotiating contracts.
Supporters: Firefighters Local 975
Note: Filed by petition.
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Proposition B:
Homeless camping rollback
FOR
Would (re)create Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine for anyone to sit, lie down, or camp in public areas without official permission; prohibits panhandling at specific hours and locations.
Pro: Takes city back to pre-2019 camping restrictions; makes pedestrian areas and roadsides safer; removes "signaling" to other homeless persons in other locations to move to Austin; addresses aesthetic and sanitary concerns.
Con: Allowing camping in more public places has made it visually clear that there is a homeless problem in Austin that needs to be addressed; government and social workers more easily able to find, access, and treat homeless persons in homeless camps.
Supporters: Save Austin Now PAC, SafeHorns, Travis GOP Chairman Matt Mackowiak; individual Democrats (TCDP framing this as a right-wing effort -- it is not, being clearly bipartisan).
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