Dan Horn

dhorn@enquirer.com

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley has heard his share of criticism in the past week for the way he jumped into contract talks and demanded raises for city workers.

He made clear Thursday that he doesn't care.

Standing on the steps of City Hall, with union representatives and a dozen elected officials from both parties behind him, Cranley threw down the gauntlet to his critics, including some members of his own party on City Council.

"They either want to stand with these workers or they don't," Cranley said.

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The mayor portrayed his proposal to give raises to city employees in four unions, including police officers and firefighters, as a fight for the American middle class and a necessary investment in "the people who pick up the garbage, the people who put themselves in harm's way."

He said it's time to pay back employees who, in some cases, have gone several years without raises. Police and firefighters have received one raise since 2010, a 1.5 percent increase in 2014.

Under Cranley's plan, employees would get a 5 percent raise beginning Dec. 4, a 5 percent raise for fiscal year 2018 and a 4 percent raise for 2019.

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Some on council and elsewhere have expressed reservations about the plan. While no one is arguing workers don't deserve a pay raise, some have accused Cranley of circumventing the traditional collective bargaining process to pander for votes and to win favor with the unions.

Cranley is up for re-election next year in what's expected to be a competitive race, especially if Councilwoman Yvette Simpson, a fellow Democrat, runs against him.

As Cranley spoke Thursday, Councilman Chris Seelbach, who has often butted heads with Cranley, took to Twitter to complain about the politics of Thursday's press conference. "Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought respect for Collective Bargaining was fundamental Dem value," Seelbach wrote. "Interesting what happens when elections are near."

He and others, including Vice Mayor David Mann, have challenged Cranley for getting involved while his own city manager was trying to negotiate new contracts with the workers. Councilman Wendell Young said he's considering filing a complaint with the State Employment Relations Board accusing Cranley of interfering in the process.

"This is an egregious violation of collective bargaining," Young said earlier this week. "The mayor had no business getting into negotiations."

Mann has said he's worried about the city "mortgaging its future" by granting significant raises that would cost about $13 million over the next two fiscal years.

Dan Hils, Cincinnati's police union president, brushed off that kind of criticism when he spoke after Cranley on Thursday.

"Doing the right thing can sometimes be political," Hils said. "There's nothing nefarious ... We're due for a pay raise."

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When asked Thursday, Cranley said he got involved because negotiations were "at an impasse." City Manager Harry Black had not declared that he was at an impasse, though those involved had described negotiations as stalled.

The mayor said he felt he had to act, whether or not everyone embraced his methods. He said his plan is about more than pay raises, framing it as part of a broader fight for workers everywhere.

"We all know this city was built by the middle class," Cranley said. "This is about middle-class values."