The POLICEPAY Journal®

Thursday, February 22, 2007

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Matt Barnard, Editor   matt@policepay.net    (405) 701-8616  

POLICEPAY.NET NEGOTIATION TRAINING                     

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ALBANY, NY

Albany police supervisors approve contract

WILLIAMSPORT, PA

Williamsport police agree on 3-year pact

LAFAYETTE, LA

Supplemental pay update

TROY, NY

Troy union negotiations slow going

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Albany police supervisors approve contract

From the Times Union, February 19, 2007

 

ALBANY -- Mayor Jerry Jennings and the city's Police Supervisors Union have reached an agreement on a new four-year contract, it was announced today.

 

Details will be released at a later date, according to police spokesman Detective James Miller. The pact, retroactive to 2006, was approved by the union membership last Friday, Miller said.

 

Jennings said in a statement he was pleased with the agreement.

 

“Public Safety has always been the top priority in my administration and today's contract settlement allows for us to move forward and continue the progress that we have made in the past year,'' Jennings said.

 

He commended the supervisors and their tireless efforts and professionalism over the past year during the intense negotiations. The talks had been submitted to arbitration, but an agreement was reached before an arbitrator's decision.

 

 

Williamsport police agree on 3-year pact

From The Patriot-News, February 15, 2007

 

WILLIAMSPORT - Nearly 14 months after the old contract expired, city police have a new, three-year pact, officials announced yesterday.

 

While the contract is retroactive to 2006, the officers will not be receiving pay increases for that year.

 

Under the agreement, which runs through Dec. 31, 2008, police will receive a 3 percent increase this year and 2 percent next year for officers with at least five years on the force.

 

Newer officers get between 65 percent and 90 percent of the pay of a six-year officer, depending how long he or she has been on the force.

 

The agreement was reached through arbitration after negotiations reached an impasse.

 

Other changes include the elimination of a minimum staffing requirement, allowance for compensatory time off and all grievances to be settled by arbitrator, including termination that formerly was City Council's responsibility.

 

Police Chief Gary Whiteman said the elimination of minimum staffing will allow him to allocate officers to hours when they are needed most. The city will set a manpower level that ensures the public's protection and officer safety, he said.

 

Unchanged are shift bidding and the city paying 100 percent of the health care costs for officers and their families.

 

The Fraternal Order of Police will be watching to see how this is accomplished, said its president, Agent Stephen J. Sorage.

 

Whiteman estimated savings of at least $30,000 from the $360,000 paid in overtime last year might be possible without the minimum staffing requirement.

 

Overtime for court appearances cannot be avoided, said Whiteman, who was involved in the negotiating process as corporal before being elevated to chief.

 

 

Supplemental pay update

From KATC.com, February 19, 2007

 

In Lafayette a resolution to an ongoing lawsuit between police, fire fighters and the city could be near.

 

600 police officers, firefighters and city marshals sued, saying Lafayette Consolidated Government owes them about 15 million dollars in supplemental pay.

 

They filed the lawsuit after realizing during their first year on the job. Government gave them a 300-dollar pay advance, but took it away after one year when the state's supplemental pay for firefighters and police kicked in.

 

City-Parish President Joey Durel says it's time for a resolution.

 

"If it was easy to fix, it would have been fixed one month after I got in office.

 

Ultimately, it didn't happen fast. The legal world is tough. It drags things on forever."

 

Durel says the city is close to having a settlement on the suit.

 

 

Troy union negotiations slow going

From The Record, February 18, 2007

 

TROY - The contracts of four or five bargaining units are up and as negotiations progress, the city is looking to trim costs, particularly in how they provide health insurance.

Contracts for the Police Benevolent Association and the department's Command Officers Association of Troy expired on Dec. 31, 2004; and contracts for the Civil Service Employees Union and the United Firefighters Association expired on Dec. 31.

The city and the fire chiefs just settled on a deal that will expire Dec. 31, 2010.

The city and the PBA have for years had the most trouble reaching an agreement, and it does not appear to be shaping up any differently this time around.

Police Benevolent Association President Bob Fitzgerald said negotiations with his union are all but at a standstill. Deputy Mayor Dan Crawley all but agreed.

"We are getting mixed signals on how the negotiations are even supposed to be going," Fitzgerald said. "We were to meet face-to-face with their negotiating team, but we got an e-mail from the City Hall, telling us all negotiations will go between our attorneys and their attorneys. To me that is waste of city money."

"I have not had any contact at all with President Fitzgerald since the last meeting when he called us names and walked out," Crawley said. "He does not want to sit down and have official negotiations. We have an attorney on retainer, and negotiations do not cost anything extra so why would I go into negotiations without a professional."

Even the reasons for the arguments are different from both men.

Crawley said he offered a 3 percent raise for 2004 and 2005, while Fitzgerald said it was more like 1 percent. Fitzgerald said Chief Nicholas Kaiser is not invited to the table, Crawley said the city has a list of the organizational changes Kaiser would like to see.

Representatives from the UFA, COATS and CSEA could not be reached for comment.

 

 

 

 

 

CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

 

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  • Train your executive board how to lobby and politic (at your place)
  • Meet with the key decision makers in your city – Chief, Mayor, Administrator
  • Provide all preparation for contract negotiations
  • Serve as your lead negotiator

 

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:

 

  • Update your wage survey whenever there is a change
  • Update ability-to-pay reports annually
  • Provide monthly reports on major revenue (if data is available)
  • Meet with you annually to review strategies

 

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 Matt Barnard on his cell phone at (405) 413-6517. You may also email Matt at matt@policepay.net.

 

 

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