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POLICEPAY.NET
NEGOTIATION TRAINING JANUARY 18-19 -
JULY 26-27 -
It's official, but divided Contract issues come up in protest outside formal swearing-in of
consolidated force From the Sheriff Frank Anderson took his oath of office Tuesday in a
ceremony that also marked the merger of the Anderson, who will head the merged department, spoke about the
honor and pride that police officers feel about their jobs. "Never have we had a more professional group of law
enforcement officers," he said during the ceremony at the Meanwhile, about 25 protesters marched outside the Convention
Center carrying signs blasting the merger and Mayor Bart Peterson. The protesters -- including members of the former Indianapolis
Police Department, their friends and relatives -- picketed to call attention
to their contract dispute with the city. Among other issues, the officers were without a contract for all
of 2006 and want the city to give them retroactive pay raises. Officials with Peterson's office have said they spent money
previously set aside for retroactive pay on efforts to ease jail crowding
after the police union rejected the last contract offer. Protesting officers wore civilian clothes. Officer James Briggs
walked his family dog, Raya, and carried a sign reading, "Bart lies like
a dog." "Mayor Peterson doesn't appreciate police officers in this
city," Briggs said. A man in a chicken suit declined to give his name but called
himself the "Indy Chicken" and said he would make appearances at
other events in support of officers. The man, who said he was a business
owner, said he was angry that the members of the former Indianapolis Police
Department had not received raises in two years. Penny Davis, who led the Transition Advisory Committee, said
officers would continue to work hard regardless of their disputes with the
city. "You (officers) adapt to the circumstances you are put
in," Police, city near contract agreement Annual raises would be capped at 4% in new deal From the
Caller-Times, December
29, 2006
Police officers have been without a contract since July and have
been negotiating with the city for about 10 months. If the agreement's terms
are approved by City Council and the association's general membership, all Officers would receive a raise in each of the next three years
that would bring local salaries on the level of a statewide average. However,
yearly raises would be capped at 4 percent, City Manager Skip Noe said. Officers packed the City Council chamber the past two meetings,
with association President Domingo Ibarra reprimanding the council on the
lengthening contract talks. Mayor Henry Garrett and Noe previously
said city staff needed more time to evaluate the association's request for a
variable-raise, or raise based on an index system. Officers' pay here, averaged during a 30-year-career, is 2.93
percent below the state average for cities with populations of 100,000 or
more, according to a study by PolicePay.Net Inc., the group leading contract
negotiations for the association. The base pay for a 30-year veteran in the Corpus Christi Police
Department is $53,851 compared with $65,093 in "We're pleased we were able to work through all the details
of the agreement," Noe said. "I think the
two sides came together after the last council meeting, after the council
expressed its willingness to consider an index system." Both sides met informally last week and set a second meeting
Thursday after the council directed city negotiators to consider the index
system. After meeting in the morning, a tentative agreement was reached in
the afternoon, Noe said. A finalized contract could be in place Jan. 16, the next council
meeting, but it may take until the end of January, Noe
said. "Collective bargaining is not an easy process under any
circumstances, and in many ways it can become adversarial," Noe said. "I know toward the end we had some
disagreements of some substance, but in the end this is not personal but
business." Ibarra could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
Ibarra previously said low officers' salaries in The association originally asked for salary increases of 3
percent in the contract's first year, then a 4 percent raise in the second
year and a 5 percent raise in the third year. In earlier negotiations, the association asked for the index
system to determine officers' raises in the contract's fourth year. The Corpus Christi Firefighters Association and the city reached
a tentative contract agreement earlier this month in that group's extended
contract negotiations with the city. Association President Carlos Torres said
members could approve the contract by the first week in January. The associations for the firefighters and police are able to
negotiate as a group with the city during contract negotiations because When a contract expires for both groups, firefighters or
officers operate under the terms of the most-recent contract. City
approves three-year contracts with police and fire From the The City Council awarded the Police Department a 6 percent raise
last week, making the force of 32 officers one of the highest paid in
Pinellas County. Under a new police union contract approved in Tuesday's City
Council meeting, the minimum officer salary is $38,307, up from about
$36,100. The maximum salary is $57,461. The former salary cap was $56,018. A few extra thousand dollars a year might not seem like a
significant raise, but Mayor Michael Yakes said it
makes the difference between hiring and retaining competent officers or
losing them to higher paying cities. "We are proud of our Police Department," he said.
"If we want to get the top quality applicants, we have to pay what other
cities pay." Officers also will be able to earn several pay increases each
year and a bonus. That means entry-level officers could earn an extra $3,200
after their first year if they did well. With the extras, In comparison, officers in St. Pete Beach, which has a
population similar in size to In Police union representatives initially turned down a proposal by
the city in October because it did not provide for a fixed annual cost of
living adjustment. In the new contract, which is valid until September 2009,
officers can receive a maximum 4 percent cost of living increase. They also
will receive a 2.5 percent raise each year if they earn a satisfactory
evaluation and can earn up to a 2 percent merit-based bonus. City Manager Thomas Brobeil said the
pay increases were necessary to build a strong Police Department. The city has had a problem retaining officers partly because of
the rising costs of buying a home in south Pinellas. Since 2000, "We don't have the diversity of assignments that a larger
department would have," Brobeil said. "If you want to do the kind of things you see on TV like
COPS or whatnot, we don't do that." CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS POLICEPAY provides
complete contract negotiations for your bargaining unit. We will:
Our fee will be a fixed
amount that is agreed to up front. The
fee will include all costs, even travel and hotels. There will be no surprises. We offer options with no up front
payment. You can make equal monthly
payments. If your contract is 36
months, you will make 36 monthly payments. During the term of the
contract, we will:
If we are not able to
reach an agreement with your city, we will provide arbitration services at no
additional cost. We intend to get an
agreement. Our approach to contract
negotiations is different than what you are probably used to. We engage in non-confrontational
negotiations that rely on developing relationships. However, we do not use so called “win-win”
negotiation. It’s a loser for
you. There will be no unfair labor
practice complaints filed by us or lawsuits and grievances. If that is what you are wanting you need to
call the usual knucklehead lawyers that have been screwing up police
negotiations for years. Intimidation
and blustering are not in our arsenal. If you prefer to
negotiate yourself we can provide any of the services listed above, with the
same payment plans, only at lower rate.
If this is the way you want to go, you need to attend one of our
negotiation seminars. The upcoming
seminars are listed on our website. For more information,
give us a call at (405) 234-2235, or contact POLICEPAY.NET Your
Ultimate Solution For Contract Negotiations |
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