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POLICEPAY.NET
NEGOTIATION TRAINING JULY 26-27 -
From the
Corpus Christi Caller-Times, January 31, 2007 Officers had been without a contract since the end of July and
had negotiated with the city for more than 10 months before an agreement was
reached, Corpus Christi Police Officers Association officials said. The new deal gives officers a 3 percent raise retroactive to
Aug. 1. The association approved the preliminary contract with the city
Friday by a 211 to 28 vote. Council members unanimously approved the new four-year contract,
which gives a fixed raise in the first year. For the three remaining years, a
market study will be used to calculate the salary increase for each year. The study will use a statewide average of cities of comparable
size to determine the increase. The increase will be capped at 4 percent for
each of those years. "All we wanted was average pay for above-average work and
we got that," said Domingo Ibarra, association president. Ibarra said the increase is a positive step to improving both
officer recruitment and retention. "We must be able to not only hire (officers) but to keep
(officers)," Ibarra said. There are about 448 officers in the police department. Monthly
salary in the expired contract under which officers still were working is
$2,773 for a trainee and $3,221 for a new officer. Mayor Henry Garrett said he too was relieved the contract was
approved. "Now we can move forward to the next round (of
negotiations)," Garrett said. City Council members last week unanimously approved a new
three-year contract for BY THE NUMBERS 448 Under expired contract: $2,773 monthly salary for officer trainees $3,221 monthly salary for new officers Under new contract: 3 percent raise in first year 4 percent maximum raise in
remaining three years. A market study would determine the amount. UPDATE: UNION
ATTORNEY SAYS From CBS5.com, January 25, 2007 Contract talks between Rockne Lucia, who represents the Oakland Police Officers'
Association, told District Court Judge Thelton
Henderson, "Unfortunately, I can't report success'' in the contract
talks, which he said have been going on for 10 months. However, Lucia said, "I think we're close to a resolution
one way or another.'' Lucia said later that if some issues remain unresolved, the
union and the city would try to resolve them through binding arbitration. Lucia addressed Lucia told the judge, "I want to report certain successes
in the collective bargaining front'' on having the union go along with
implementing the reforms mandated in the settlement. Reminding Lucia said that in the ongoing contract talks there haven't been
any issues about the union implementing the settlement or disagreeing with
its goals. After today's hearing, Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly, who briefly addressed Henderson herself, said,
"We've been working hard on trying to get a new contract. We're close on
some items but we're not there yet on other items.'' Edgerly said she
agrees with Lucia that some items may wind up going to binding arbitration. But she said, "Both sides are in good spirits.'' The police union's contract expired last June 30 and officers
are continuing to work under its terms. Lucia said it's not unusual for officers to work for long
periods without a new contract. He said police officers' unions in some
cities have gone as long as two years without a new contract. Lucia said that in the current talks, "There is a lot of
dialogue over serious issues at the Oakland Police Department.'' CORAL GABLES Police union
phone calls attack Slesnick The police union called voters in the city this week to complain
about the mayor -- but said nothing about the protracted and difficult
negotiations for a new contract. From the Some residents in Turns out, it's an early political dig. The message, left by Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 7
President Eugene Gibbons, lashes out at Mayor Don Slesnick,
who Gibbons says is to blame for the stagnated negotiations for a new police
contract. ''This is an urgent message to all citizens of ''We can no longer sit idly by and allow this cover-up to
continue,'' it goes on to say. ``It is time to expose Mayor Don Slesnick's mismanagement and mishaps.'' The message goes on to complain about the ''mishandling of the
University of Miami,'' referring to campus projects put on hold while the
city tried to negotiate a development agreement with UM, and about the city's
tax rate and new high-rises. It ends: ``This public announcement is brought
to you by the Coral Gables Fraternal Order of Police.'' Gibbons, who has gone to the commission several times to ask
leaders to intervene in the negotiations, told the mayor last month that he
would make the contract an election issue in the race this April. He does
not, however, make the contract an issue in the phone message -- which Slesnick said was misleading. The mayor's seat and that of commissioners William H. ''Bill'' Kerdyk, Jr., and The union, which has not officially endorsed Slesnick's
sole challenger, Richard Namon, obtained a list of
registered voters from the county to conduct the telephone campaign, Gibbons
said. The union is waiting to see if other candidates come forward
before making an endorsement, Gibbons said. Gibbons said he and other FOP members are upset about the city's
offer, which would have police employees contribute
five percent of their salary to the pension for a three percent wage
increase. He said he took the issue to the mayor because he has gotten
nowhere with City Manager David Brown, who has been cited twice by Florida
Public Employees Relations Commission on the way he treated members of the
union's collective bargaining team. Slesnick told The
Miami Herald on Tuesday at press time that he had not heard the message --
but he knew about it. ''It saddens me. The first call I got today was from my
mother,'' Slesnick said. ``I'm sorry that even though we have seemingly a set of
differences on the union contract that the FOP has decided they would focus
on me when in fact the union contract is a product of the administration and
the entire commission.'' He also said the message was misleading because it did not even
mention the dispute over the police contract. ''And that is an attempt to hide what this is really about,'' Slesnick said. ``The FOP has never weighed in on development. The FOP has never
weighed in on the ''What they really are upset about is that they don't want to
help us reform the pension system. They refuse to agree to the same terms the
firefighters and general employees have agreed to,'' Slesnick
said, referring to contracts that require employees to contribute to the
bloated pension, to which the city will contribute $22.4 million this year,
up from $20.6 million last year. ''The real issue here is whether or not their position will
ensure that our pension plan is too costly and devastating to our budget in
the future,'' the mayor said. ``Interestingly enough, that message isn't there at all.'' Some people who spoke to the Herald said that the way the
message began gave them temporary concern about a true crisis. Others said
they didn't listen to the whole thing because they erase automatic messages. Arthur Denunzio, Jr., who lives on But he won't be swayed by it come election time. ''If you have an objection or a gripe, to do something like this
is out of the ordinary,'' Denunzio said. Hobbs raises
salaries for police, other city workers From The Associated Press, January 30, 2007 The raises are effective immediately. Entry-level pay for All union officers will receive at
least a ten percent raise. Raises for nonunion city employees depend on
their current salary level. Those at the bottom rungs will see
ten percent raises, while those at the highest level
receive five percent. 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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