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POWER, INFLUENCE & PERSUASION POLICE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY OCTOBER 25 & 26, 2007
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SERVICES (Click on service name for information and
pricing) Mayor,
lieutenants union reach tentative pact From the Staten Island Advance,
August 07, 2007 Mayor Michael Bloomberg today reached a tentative contract
settlement with the Lieutenants Benevolent Association (LBA)
on a collective bargaining agreement. The agreement, which covers Sept. 1, 2007 through Oct. 31, 2009,
provides a total compounded wage increase of 8.16% and covers over 1,600
supervisors in the police department. The settlement contains the same
economic parameters as other deals reached with the uniformed forces for the
comparable time period, and it includes a two-month contract extension. "The city's current prosperity results in no small measure
from the record reductions in crime that our police lieutenants have helped
secure," said Bloomberg in a statement. "They deserve our gratitude - and more. I'm pleased to
announce that we have reached a tentative new contract settlement that will
provide well-deserved pay increases for more than 1,600 members of the
Lieutenants' Benevolent Association. The LBA showed
that with resourcefulness and hard work, a good collective bargaining
agreement can be negotiated the old-fashioned. Mayor to ask
control board to OK 3.4% raises for all police officers From the Brown will argue his proposed budget revision complies with an
opinion from state legal experts that city employees were eligible to move
one step up the salary tier when the control board lifted a wage freeze July
1. The current budget only includes raises for about 80 employees
who were at the lowest rungs of the salary ladder, including 55 police
officers. Brown’s new plan would give 3.4 percent raises to all 710 officers.
Most officers are at top pay scale, and their salaries would increase by
$1,971, to $59,949. Corporation Counsel Alisa A. Lukasiewicz,
the city’s top legal adviser, insisted the raise is consistent with the
state’s stand on limiting employees to a onestep increase. “We’re looking to get the hard-working men and women of the City
of If that’s the case, why didn’t the city push to give officers
the 3.4 percent raises two months earlier when the groundwork was being laid
to lift the 38- month-old wage freeze? Administration officials said they
hoped a long-term contract could be negotiated with the police union that
would have addressed three raises officers missed out on during the wage
freeze. In fact, Lukasiewicz argued, the 3.4
percent raise could still become a 10.2 percent increase if the union accepts
the city’s most recent offer. Brown sent a letter to Buffalo Police
Benevolent Association President Robert P. Meegan
Jr. on Tuesday urging the union to come to the bargaining table to consider
the city’s latest offer. The three-year pact would give officers 10.2 percent in the
first year, along with a $2,000 signing bonus. They would receive 1.5 percent
raises in years two and three. Meegan has said
that until the city honors the terms of a 2003 contract, he doubts officers
would ratify a new agreement. The earlier contract awarded officers annual 3 . 4 percent raises in return
for agreeing to major concessions, including one-person patrols. Officers
received $5,000 acrossthe- board raises and the
first 3.4 percent increase. But they never received three subsequent raises
that totaled 10.2 percent, and the union argues these increases should be
retroactive. Meegan has said if
the city doesn’t honor the 2003 pact, he thinks an arbitrator will have to
impose a new contract. Brown hopes to avoid such an outcome. “We believe that a contract that is successfully negotiated by
the parties is in the best interest of both the city and the PBA,” Brown wrote. The 3.4 percent increase for officers would cost about $2.3
million. Where would the city get the money to increase a budget that took
effect only six weeks ago? “We did not [budget] all the state aid that has been given to
us,” replied City Finance Commissioner Janet Penksa.
“We’ve been acting very prudently to make sure we don’t have an overreliance on state aid.” Even with the added ex- penses, Penksa said the city still would have nearly $70 million
in reserves. The Common Council and control board must approve budget
revisions. The Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority meets today,, but the raises will not be on the agenda. The Council
must first approve the measure, and lawmakers are on recess until September. The proposed raises will also be a topic Aug. 17, when State
Supreme Court Justice John A. Michalek resumes
hearings on the city’s push to dismiss lawsuits by unions to have the wage
freeze declared illegal. If the raises are approved, they would be effective retroactive
to July 1, the first day the wage freeze was lifted. They would also apply to
non-union police administrators. Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson’s salary
would increase to $109,422, up from $105,824.
The contracts were approved at the
council's Thursday meeting. Today, many of the city’s positions,
including those for police officers, offer salary ranges much lower than
those offered by other cities that Police to
receive 8 percent in raises over three years
Deputies get raises in Santa Fe Co. Both departments are battling officer
shortages. The Santa Fe Police Department gave
new recruits a pay raise and a $5,000 to help increase its force, aiming at
people from all over to join the force. The raises weren't intended to draw
deputies from the sheriff's department, Sgt. Aric
Wheeler of the police department said. But the department wasn't turning
anyone away. Six To help stem the leak, Sheriff Greg
Solano made quick work to give a total of $700,000 in raises, bringing
deputies' pay in line with "I actually called an emergency
meeting with the heads of finance, the heads of HR, and the county
manager," Solano said. The whole process took less than four
weeks. "For government, that's really amazing," Solano said. The pay battle hasn't driven a wedge
between the two departments. "We're all one community here in
The pay raises have helped recruiting
for both departments. Half of the police department's 22 vacancies and six of
the sheriff's department's 12 vacancies have been filled. Police negotiations hit roadblock From the While the association claims to be at an impasse with the city, "We're in negotiations," said Randy Narramore, interim city administrator. "They have
not officially declared an impasse with us." Dan Weast, MPOA
president, said the opposite. "We're at an impasse," he said. "We're working
outside of a contract. When we will go back to negotiating, I have no
idea." Attorney Richard Kreisler, hired to
negotiate with the union, said the 81-member association has not filed a
written notice of impasse or asked to meet with the city administrator, steps
required by the city to declare formal impasse. Because they are law
enforcement, no strike is eminent. "That the POA has rejected the last city offer is
accurate," he said. Since the last contract expired in December 2006, the city and
the association have failed to reach an agreement, Weast
said. "We were looking to get our medical benefits increased, and
our salary increased to be comparable to other (cities' departments),"
he said. Weast said the
city offered the officers a $5,000 "retention incentive" - a
one-time payment for 2007 - and a chance to go back to negotiating the next
year, terms the MPOA rejected. Narramore declined to
discuss details of the negotiation process because "we're still
bargaining with them. The rules are, we keep negotiations private," he
said. Weast said "Going another year without a salary increase puts us that
much more behind," he said. "We're going to pursue getting a good contract," added
Michael Bergman, MPOA board member. Kreisler said the
city's offer took "good steps" in offering the $5,000. "The city has offered to spend over $400,000 in the
2007-2008 fiscal year," he said. "That's equivalent to about a 7.5 percent pay raise (for
the officers)." He said the city made a good-faith proposal, despite having
serious financial issues. "The POA should be focused on the overall financial
situation in the city," he said. "Every time you give a pay raise
to a group as large as the POA, there is a dramatic impact on the city."
MPOA members said
the current salaries could negatively affect the quality of the department. If salaries are not competitive with neighboring police departments,
Bergman said, "Over a period of several years, if your salary will only
attract the lower end, it will reflect on an organization's ability to serve
people," he said. Bill Molinari, Montebello City
Councilman, concurred that negotiations are ongoing. He said the matter is
still under closed session. "The council is precluded from discussing closed-session
matters until they're concluded," he said. "Once we resolve the
issue we'll be happy to comment on it." Narramore was mad the MPOA had gone to the press and said that while the
association declared an impasse two weeks ago, it had since come back to the
table. "I want to keep it very professional," he said. The Police Negotiator's Handbook, by Ron York, POLICEPAY.NET president The
book that every Negotiator needs 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,
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