Date: December 10, 2025

Topic: Labor Relations / Municipal Economics / Local Politics

The chants of "Union Strong All Day Long" echoing off the concrete walls of Memphis City Hall this week were impossible to ignore. More than 200 members from five distinct unions—representing police, fire, solid waste, and general employees—stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a rare show of solidarity.

Their grievance? Mayor Paul Young’s refusal to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

To the casual observer, this looks like a standard pay dispute. But a deeper look reveals a high-stakes chess match involving the city’s legal charter, a looming County Mayor race, and the financial stability of Memphis itself.

The "Young Doctrine": Why the Mayor Won't Sign

Mayor Paul Young isn’t just playing hardball; he is attempting to rewrite the rules of engagement.

For decades, Memphis has operated on "handshake deals" with its unions. Since public sector strikes are illegal in Tennessee (and Memphis has a particularly painful history with them dating back to 1968), the city uses MOUs to set terms.

What Young is doing:

Mayor Young’s administration is taking a strict legalist approach: MOUs are not binding collective bargaining agreements. His administration argues that agreements signed by previous mayors (like Jim Strickland) do not legally bind his administration.

The Business Logic:

• Fiscal Flexibility: By refusing to lock the city into rigid, multi-year contracts, Young retains the power to adjust the budget based on tax revenue realities rather than contractual obligations.
• Ending "Auto-Pilot" Spending: Young is trying to stop the automatic escalators in pension and wage costs that limit the city’s ability to invest in infrastructure or economic development. He is effectively saying, "We will pay you what the budget allows, not what a piece of paper from 2022 says."

The Smiley Factor: The County Mayor Play

While Mayor Young plays the "Fiscal Hawk," City Councilman JB Smiley Jr. has firmly positioned himself as the "Labor Ally."

Smiley was front and center at the protests, amplifying the unions' message. This is no accident. With the Shelby County Mayoral race heating up for 2026, Smiley is calculating that the path to victory runs through organized labor.

The Strategy:

• Differentiation: Young attracts the business elite and fiscal conservatives. Smiley is consolidating the working-class vote.
• The Narrative: Smiley is framing Young’s legal maneuvering as a "betrayal" of the frontline workers who kept the city running during the pandemic. If he can turn out the union vote (fire, police, sanitation), he builds a formidable ground game for the county election.

The Business Case: Pros & Cons for Memphis

For the average business owner or resident in Memphis, this fight has serious implications.

The Verdict: A Dangerous Game of Chicken

Mayor Young is betting that he can endure the bad PR to secure long-term financial health for the city. He is banking on the fact that the unions cannot legally strike and that the public will eventually side with fiscal prudence.

However, the risk is talent flight. In a labor market where skilled operators and first responders are in high demand, Memphis cannot afford to be the "employer of last resort." If Young wins the legal battle but loses the workforce, the victory will be hollow.

For JB Smiley, the protest is a golden opportunity. He doesn't have to balance the city budget right now; he only has to promise that he would sign the paper. Whether that promise holds up in a County Mayor's office remains to be seen.