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Oakland and its primary striking union briefly returned to the bargaining table Thursday afternoon but walked away without a deal, extending the labor walkout of 3,000 workers to a fourth day.

During the hour-long negotiations, the city made what it called a final, best offer that Rob Szykowny, Service Employees International Union Local 1021’s chief negotiator, said was “offensive.” The city threatened to declare an impasse and request state mediation if the union didn’t accept it.

Union leaders said they were working on crafting a counteroffer late Thursday. They asked the city’s negotiators to stay on call through the evening.

“We actually thought they were going to come in and we were going to talk all night if necessary to reach a compromise, and they just gave us the end,” Szykowny said. “It seems the city has just decided to be intransigent and try to beat the union down, and that is not going to happen.”

Back to Gallery Negotiations in Oakland strike end without a deal 9 1 of 9 Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press 2 of 9 Photo: Paul Kuroda, Special to The Chronicle 3 of 9 Photo: Paul Kuroda, Special to The Chronicle 4 of 9 Photo: Paul Kuroda, Special to The Chronicle 5 of 9 Photo: Paul Kuroda, Special to The Chronicle 6 of 9 Photo: Paul Kuroda, Special to The Chronicle 7 of 9 Photo: Paul Kuroda, Special to The Chronicle 8 of 9 Photo: Kimberly Veklerov / The Chroncle / / 9 of 9 Photo: Kimberly Veklerov / The Chronicle / /

















Mayor Libby Schaaf seemed to dismiss the union’s counteroffer, saying just before 10 p.m. the city would accept nothing less than a “yes.”

The city’s latest offer was a slight tweak from its earlier one. Previously, the city said it could offer up to a 2 percent raise in the second year of the contract contingent on revenue growth. The newest proposed deal would guarantee half that and give an additional 1 percent on Jan. 1, 2019, if revenue targets are met.

The offer would also allocate $500,000 to converting some temporary part-time library positions to permanent ones.

The union and the city agree on the contract terms for the first year, which include a 4 percent wage raise, retroactive to July 1. The dispute is focused on the second year of the contract.

Negotiations had been at a standstill since Monday but resumed only briefly Thursday after the City Council authorized negotiators to make the new offer to get workers back to their jobs.

SEIU Local 1021 called for the strike after Oakland’s negotiators rejected the one-year compromise or bringing in ex-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, a Chronicle columnist, as an informal mediator. Schaaf said he wouldn’t have been a neutral party but agreed to have a mediator whom both sides approve.

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21, which is also deep in negotiations and reviewing similar proposals, has been on a solidarity strike. It hasn’t been threatened with impasse or mediation.

Members of other unions, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, are refusing to cross the picket line.

The city and its unions had been negotiating for seven months at City Hall when workers walked off the job Tuesday morning to protest what they said were unfair labor practices. Most city services, including street cleaning, libraries, child care and senior care centers, have been shut down. Emergency services are operating.

“It is of course my desire that this strike be over, that we return to labor peace, that our great city workers get back to doing the incredible jobs they do every day,” Schaaf said. “But it’s more important that we continue to keep this organization stable — that we do not put ourselves in a position where we have to lay off workers or cut valuable city services in the future.”

The unions want guaranteed raises and improved working conditions. They have asked the city to approve the agreed-upon one-year contract and begin negotiating for subsequent years. The city, however, refuses to approve a short-term contract, saying its credit-rating might be hurt by the uncertainty.

Many workers did not expect to be away from their jobs for this much time.

Amaka Watson, a records specialist in Oakland Police Department’s special-victims unit, said several times she considered crossing the picket line. It’s nearly the time of the month when she has to pay the medical bills for her son, who has severe hemophilia A.

“I’m fighting for his future and mine,” she said. “In the end, the sacrifices I’m making will help both of us. I’m teaching my son to speak up for what matters.”

On the third day of the strike, she and other pickets said they were tired.

“We don’t want to be out here,” said Alice McCain, a city librarian. “It’s a terrible disservice to the community.”

City employees such as Maxine Visaya, who works in Oakland’s rent-adjustment program, brought their children to the strike. Visaya said she couldn’t pay for a babysitter for her 2-year-old daughter without the daily income.

Another striking librarian, Janine deManda, said she is ready to picket indefinitely.

“I’m increasingly exhausted and increasingly angry,” she said. “But I’m also ready to do whatever is necessary to increase the union’s bargaining power.”

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KVeklerov

Starting points

While proposals and offers have been tweaked during behind-the-scenes negotiations, the most recent publicly available comparison, which was provided by the city, offers an idea of where the sides are coming from.

Oakland’s initial offers to both the SEIU Local 1021 and IFPTE Local 21 were identical: a 4 percent pay increase for fiscal year 2017-18 and a 2 percent increase for 2018-19, but only triggered by city revenue goals being met. Late Thursday, the city told SEIU Local 1021 that half of the 2 percent increase in the second year would be guaranteed under its proposal.

The SEIU agreed on the 4 percent increase for 2017-18 but wants another 4 percent increase in 2018-19, regardless of revenue.

The IFPTE proposed a 6 percent increase, plus a 2 percent signing bonus, in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.

The unions also want a series of noneconomic agreements. They want employees who clean up homeless encampments and illegal dumping to have better working conditions, for instance, and a reduction in mandatory overtime for 911 dispatchers.