MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A week of elevated tension between the Milwaukee police union and the city could come to ahead Friday morning when the union protests near an event the mayor is hosting.
It comes as the years-long battle over a police contract intensifies as the two sides near arbitration.
The mayor will be at City Hall for an event at 9 a.m. The police union will head that way at 10 a.m.
Negotiations have not gone well in recent weeks, with little communication between the two sides.
And no surprise, the bitter divide comes down to money.
A letter from the police supervisors' union to its members outlines the final offers for the contract that would be in effect for 2023-2025.
The union proposes two 2.25% raises in each of the first two years, then a 3.75% raise for all of 2025.
The city proposes a 5% raise for the first year, then two one percent raises in each of the final two years.
But a city official says the difference between the offers amounts to millions of dollars.
The city says its proposed raises are double what other general city employees have gotten in the past few years.
But the police union called the city's offer "insulting" and "out of touch with reality."
In a letter to members this week, the union said they gave the labor negotiator a Friday deadline for a better offer. The letter reads: "To date they have not presented anything we could, in good conscience, present to you for a ratification vote."
While the arbitration process has begun, both sides could still strike a deal at any time.
But tensions are already high, with a war of words between Mayor Cavalier Johnson and police union president Alexander Ayala.
The temperature was turned even higher this week when Ayala floated the idea of inviting the National Guard to Milwaukee.
City leaders were quick to denounce it. But it set off a chain reaction that has already sparked fears of federal troops in Milwaukee communities.
When asked about Milwaukee, the White House told us there are no plans to announce.
The current contract negotiations are to cover the period from 2023 to 2025.
Whatever the arbitrator decides, or whatever deal is reached before then, will expire at the end of this year and a new contract will need to be negotiated.