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The
Police Negotiator's Handbook
POLICEPAY.NET
SERVICES (Click on service name for information and
pricing) The Police Negotiator's Handbook, by Ron York, POLICEPAY.NET president
is now available. This book
is presented in the six stages of Negotiations. Stage One – Research Evidence Stage
Two – Develop Argument Stage
Three – Create Key Relationships Stage
Four – Generate Public Support Stage
Five – Plan Strategy Stage Six –
Negotiate Deal Negotiations are about persuasion. If you want a
handbook that is brief and to the point, An arbitration panel raises the top pay scale for county officers,
but freezes the salary for rookies as a cost-saving move. From Newsday, July 2, 2007 Union lawyer says City wants fire arbitration set before
dealing with police From the After taking the fire union to court twice over alleged
"stalling tactics," the city is now catching the same flack. With firefighting jobs and immediate savings at stake, Attorney Alan C. Davis said he might take Any court appearance by city attorneys would mean a greater cost
to taxpayers, on top of more than $100,000 in costs for outside labor
consultants already. Although Yeung and Davis have selected
arbitrator Thomas Angelo of After an initial fire arbitrator recused
himself, Yeung said the
police issue is less critical because there is no ongoing overtime cost tied
up in the staffing debate. The City Council approved the deep cuts to the police and fire
departments June 26 to help offset a $9 million budget deficit. Although the city and police union have not reached a
cost-savings deal during occasional talks since January 2006, police have not
received the same public rebuke. Still, Vallejo Police Officers Association leaders say they will
argue in arbitration that the council's cuts violate the union's contract to
have 145 total sworn officers. In 2004, in exchange for raise deferrals, then
Interim City Manager Otto Giuliani agreed the force would not fall below 145
positions. The city argues the agreement was for one year only. Giuliani
left at the end of 2004. Several city council members from 2004 have said they intended
to OK the police staffing level for that year only. But former Councilwoman
Pamela Pitts, now a mayoral candidate, said she took the figure of 145 to be
permanent. "I don't remember any discussion about it being
limited," said Pitts, a frequent Giuliani critic who has won union
endorsements in past races. "It's just a staffing level that had been approved.
(Giuliani) had agreed they would have this staffing," Pitts said.
"You don't hire people for a year - you don't staff like that." In 2005, in response to a police union gripe about a hiring
freeze, Giuliani's replacement, Roger Kemp, wrote a memo upholding the 145
staffing level. Kemp later sent a second note saying the level had only been
OK'd for one year. Several sources familiar with Kemp's November 2005 ouster say
Kemp's pledge to uphold police staffing partially led to his departure. Council OKs pay raise for police From the Argus Leader, July 3, 2007 The rank-and-file police officers in The new three year deal takes effect in
January 2008 and expires in December of 2010. It applies to the city’s police
officers and sergeants. The union was unable to negotiate a
multi-year contract last year, so it settled on a one-year deal that expires
at the end of this year. Negotiations falter between From the Mercury-Register, June 27,
2007 At the heart of the dispute is Police Chief Wayne Tucker's
proposal to require most patrol officers to work 12-hour shifts three days a
week rather than the current schedule of 10-hour days four times a week. Oakland Police Officers Association President Bob Valladon said the city presented no evidence that the
change would reduce crime or better serve Valladon said a
provision that would have required officers to work 84 hours every two weeks,
rather than 80 hours, was completely unacceptable. ``They want us to work longer hours for less money,'' Valladon said, noting that officers would currently be
paid for four hours of overtime if they worked 84 hours in two weeks.
``That's not going to happen.'' However, Capt. Dave Kozicki, the
police department's lead negotiator, said city officials were still weighing
the counter proposal presented by the union, and hoped that the dispute still
could be settled. If its not, an arbitrator will resolve the disagreement, but a
final decision is not likely for at least two months. Kozicki said city
officials asked the union to pick an arbitrator, hoping to get the lengthy
process started while negotiations continued. ``It is a little bit unorthodox, but we need to get started on
changing the way we do business in the city of Valladon said once an
arbitrator is picked, the matter is at impasse. No additional meetings are
scheduled, and Valladon said the next negotiating
session would be in front of the agreed-upon arbitrator. Karen Stevenson, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ron Dellums,
declined to comment Wednesday afternoon, saying she hadn't officially been
notified of the decision. According to Tucker and Dellums, the
schedule change is an integral part of the chief's plan to restructure the
department by dividing the city into three geographic areas, with a captain
in charge of each with the authority to deploy the area's patrol officers,
community police officers and specialized crime reduction teams. Earlier this month, union members overwhelmingly voted against
the so-called 3/12 schedule on a union survey. The final tally was 427-11, Valladon said. City officials said the questionnaire was one-sided, and believe
more officers would support the change if they had all of the information.
Union officials said they provided all of the city's arguments in favor of
the change. During budget discussions, Tucker told the Oakland City Council
that the reorganization of the department would reduce spending on overtime
by nearly $5 million. This year, the department is on pace to exceed its
overtime budget by $15 million. In March, negotiations over a new contract between the city and
the police union broke down over the city's demand that the police chief have
more flexibility to run the department. An arbitrator is scheduled to take up that dispute in December,
officials said. Manager:
Fact-finder report 'ridiculous' in police negotiations City Council rejects report; talks now headed to conciliation. From the The city and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 36 have
been negotiating a contract since last winter. A hearing was held June 12 and
the report was released Friday. Assistant Law Director Sara Mills told the council there were 20
issues that included wages, health insurance, uniform allowance, premium pay,
shift differential and pension pickup. Mills said the wage increase recommended by the fact finder was
4 percent in the first year, 4.5 percent in the second year and a wage reopener in the third year of the pact. In the city's budget, there were funds for 3 percent increases
for each of the first two years of the contract. In addition, Mills said the fact-finder recommended an opt-out
provision for members who can get coverage through a spouse or elsewhere that
would entitle the employee to a $4,000 annual payment. Vice Mayor Tony Marconi said the wages sought "won't play
well with the public" especially at a time when the city is going to try
to pass a levy. The contract negotiation will now proceed to conciliation, which
is binding on the union and the city. The FOP has two units, one representing 64 patrol officers and
the other representing supervisors, 12 sergeants and lieutenants. Mayor, police union wrestle over contract Moyer offering 2% raise, but they're asking for 8% From The Capital, June 30, 2007 A back-and-forth between Set to expire at midnight, United Food and Commercial Workers
Local 400, which represents Union President Jim Lowthers charges
the city with failing to fill 22 open officer positions and sacrificing the
safety of its citizens. "What In a memo to city officials last week, Ms. Moyer described the
final 2 percent proposal as "generous and fair," citing her
administration as a key component to "a renewed and rejuvenated"
police department. "This is neither true nor has it been true for the last
five years of this administration," Ms. Moyer said in response to the
charges. "That rhetoric is untrue and unfair." Ms. Moyer also points to retirement and health benefits as well
as a salary higher than other area jurisdictions including the county, the
state and "This city administration has brought the department to top
dog status," she said. "Four years ago we had more people leaving than we could
hire." Mr. Lowthers said the officers'
current contracts will continue for two more years, but the negotiation would
supply them with better wages and benefits. "At this point, I'm not sure anybody is going to do
anything right now," he said. "We've said that we don't think the
agreement is fair and we are waiting to hear from them." Following two separate negotiation sessions, Ms. Moyer said she
was unclear what was left for the city to do. "There's nothing left to do," Ms. Moyer said.
"We've offered twice and they've said no. I have nowhere else to
go." Mr. Lowthers acknowledged the overall
package of wages and benefits for the officers is very competitive, but fears
"But when you're 22 officers short, you have all kinds of
overtime and at some point (that) gets to be a problem," he said.
"You have response time issues and we need a fully staffed police
department." Ms. Moyer contends there is a nationwide shortage of qualified
candidates to fill the police ranks and said Public Information Officer Ray
Weaver is working with Police Chief Joseph Johnson to create a pamphlet of
information for those interested in a law enforcement career. Although plans
for the brochure are still very preliminary, it hopes to focus on the pride
of being a police officer, Mr. Weaver said. He said 10 officers have been sworn in to the city ranks since
March 2006. "We didn't get to where we were from not caring, but from
police competitiveness and making retaining officers a priority," Ms.
Moyer said. "Nationally, there is a (recruitment) crisis and it hits us
just as much as anybody else." |
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