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NEGOTIATING THE CONTRACT SEMINAR DVD NOW
AVAILABLE (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS)
Police
Board OKs Raises for officers From ST.
LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, February 15, 2006
State Troopers & Governor Settle
on Wage Contract OLYMPIA,
Wash., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2005 Legislature
passed and the Governor approved a major change in the collective bargaining
rights for the members of the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association.
Troopers now have the right to bargain for wages with the Governor in the
same fashion as other state employees. And the first wage agreement under
this new authority was reached on January 3, 2006. The agreement was for
salary increases for the second year of the 05/07 biennium and, if approved
by the legislature, would give state troopers an additional 2.6% salary boost
on July 1, 2006. The members of the Troopers Association completed the
ratification of the agreement on February 10 with an impressive 97% approval
vote. "This is truly a historic
event," Tom Pillow, Troopers Association President, said; "this
agreement represents the first time in the 76 year history of the state
patrol that the employees participated in the discussions and negotiations
regarding rank and file salary levels!" Pillow emphasized that
"this has been a great learning experience for the Association
members" that participated in the bargaining and "will give us the
opportunity to take a more active role in future wage negotiations. It is
very exciting." The Troopers Association has had
bargaining rights for working conditions since the mid-80's, and was
successful in removing a wage-related item restriction in 1999. But the bill
passed in 2005 was the "biggest bargaining change since the working
conditions bill in 1986" Pillow reflected, "we now have the
complete package." And it comes at a critical time; "we have fallen
critically behind other police agencies in the state which has affected
recruitment and retention of trained officers. This partnership between the
employees, the Governor, and the Legislature is a big step in getting WSP pay levels comparable to our law enforcement
colleagues." According to the law, any salary
agreement must be approved and funded by the legislature. And since the
negotiations began late in the year the agreement was not complete until
after the October 1 deadline for inclusion in the Governor's supplemental
budget proposal. "Our work is not done," Pillow cautioned, "we
now must convince the legislature to fund the July 1 pay increase. We have
been told that revenue does exist for the 2.6% pay boost and we are
optimistic the legislature will appreciate the need." A new round of bargaining for the
07-09 biennium will commence in April. But for now the Association leadership
is hopefully that, with gubernatorial support, the legislature will approve
the first wage bargaining agreement ever struck between the members of the Troopers
Association and the Governor! Benefiting
Public Safety Firefighters
and police officers in the City of Fairfax will benefit from a new pay plan
the City Council approved at its Tuesday, Feb. 3 meeting.
Fairfax
County is, by far, the greatest threat to recruitment and retention at the
city fire and police departments, said Brock.
Both
the police and fire department pay plans will use the Fairfax County
entry-level salary as an "anchor point" on which to build a pay
structure. The new plan will add a referral bonus to encourage current
employees to recruit new members, as well as "longevity step" to
the pay plan that employees would be eligible for after 15 years. It will
also add riding pay for employees with certification in advanced life
support. "We
are struggling on the recruitment side and we run the risk of losing the very
capable workforce we have," said Owens. Many of the long-time fire
department employees, hired during a period of rapid county growth in the
1970s, are reaching retirement age. "I
tell folks, 'If you're a young person in this area with a firefighter's and
paramedic certification, you can work in any jurisdiction,'" Owens said. A
large pool of qualified applicants is vital for public safety departments to
be effective, said Col. Rick Rappoport, chief of
the City of Fairfax Police Department. "The
quality of service degrades with a limited pool of applicants," he said. The
city police department has always operated on parity with the fire
department, said Brock, and so the task force recommended a similar pay plan
for the police, that would be part of the 2007 budget. The police pay plan
would affect salaries and benefits but not premium pay, said Brock. In
all, he said, the pay plan overhaul would cost $1.1 million between the
police and fire departments for fiscal year 2007. They
agreed that the plan was necessary for the continued operation of the city
fire and police departments. Councilmember Scott Silverthorne said he was
concerned that city firefighters, who share calls with Fairfax County, work
in the county more than county firefighters work in the city. "I
think it ought to be a little more even, and perhaps we should make it
even," said Councilmember Scott Silverthorne.
"We
are all now in some way, shape or form, engaged in this process," said
Owens. However, he said, public safety personnel are stretched fairly thin
with regular duties as well as attending regional seminars on emergency
management. Emergency planning cannot be conducted in isolated jurisdictions,
he said, and so the specialist would work with local and state governments to
keep an up-to-date emergency plan and conduct community outreach efforts. "Someone
needs to take regional plans, and fashion them so they will work here,"
he said. "From
my perspective, this is a no-brainer," said Silverthorne. Mayor
Rob Lederer agreed. "We want to make sure
we’re in a position to take care of citizens in the City of Fairfax," he
said. Councilmembers unanimously decided to
move forward with the process of creating the emergency management specialist
position in the city's fire department. The position, which will cost $85,000
with salary and fringe benefits, is not a uniformed position and so will not
be subject to the new pay plan, said Owens. Police officers win 11.5%
pay increase in arbitration An arbitrator on Friday ruled in
favor of the Anacortes Police Guild in its contract dispute with the City of
Anacortes. “I’ve said all along that as a
taxpayer, it’s more than disappointing to spend $100,000 on a decision ...
The citizens deserve more effort by the city to keep it from going to the
arbitrator’s table,’’ he said. Schuh writes, “Mr.
Parent left several issues unchanged, including municipal court overtime
payment, shift bidding practices, and longevity payments. Management now
clearly has the ability to determine the number of non-patrol employees who
are scheduled to work on holidays, which curbs overtime payments ... The City
prevailed in not enhancing the longevity program.’’ Town
Council ratifies new police contract The
three-year pact gives the officers annual raises of 3 to 3.5 percent. WARREN
-- The Town Council formally ratified the police contract last night. "I
think we have struck a good three-year agreement that will satisfy the needs
of both sides, and I think we're all on the same side," said Town
Council president Frank Alfano after the council
approved the contract in executive session. The
new contract, which gives annual raises ranging from 3 to 3.5 percent over
three years, is very similar to the old contract, said Town Solicitor Fausto Anguilla, who represented the town along with
Anthony DeSisto. Under
the agreement, the town is now able to explore health insurance rates from
providers other than Blue Cross/Blue Shield, as long as the coverage is equal
to or better than the current plan. The
police contract also includes language pertaining to pregnant police
officers, which is a first for the town, Anguilla said. According
to the contract, pregnant police officers are eligible for modified duty
assignments more appropriate for their physical capabilities. The officers
can continue to work regular or modified schedules as long as they present
monthly physicians' certificates. "Assignment
to modified duty shall not affect the officer's pay classification, pay
increases, promotions, retirement benefits and/or any other benefits [the]
employees would normally receive," the contract states. Town
officials and Local 470 of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers,
which represents Warren police officers, reached an informal agreement on the
contract Jan. 19. The
previous contract expired July 1, and negotiations started last spring. If
they weren't resolved by Jan. 20, a third party would have been brought in to
mediate. Sgt.
Joseph DaSilva Jr., the police union's local
representative, said last month that the status of Police Chief Thomas
Gordon, whom the town argues stepped out of the union when he was appointed
chief in 2001, delayed the agreement. The
union says that the chief must sign a three-party agreement with the union
and the town before leaving its collective bargaining unit. To
further negotiations, the town and the union agreed to let the chief's case,
which was presented before the State Labor Relations Board in September, play
itself out separately from the police contract. |
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