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Ten
Important Questions That Will Be Answered Why
pre-negotiation activities are more important than negotiations Why presenting proposals at the start
usually means failure Why
you probably have the wrong people on the negotiating team Why presenting repots and surveys
does not work Why
exposing the city's less than honest claims does not work Why coming on strong does
not work Why
appealing to the brain with logic does not work Why pride and
ego are your worst enemies Why
the chief is your best advocate
Why the mayor really wants to give you the raise This Seminar is filling up fast, SIGN UP TODAY
Police Pay
Freeze Upheld Buffalo, NY (WBEN) -
Buffalo Police officers got bad news from State Appellate Court. Pact near for police managers
Tacoma will
give lieutenants and captains a 2.5 percent raise under plan From The News Tribune, October 4th,
2005 The City of Tacoma is on the verge of a new labor agreement with
its small, but high-profile police lieutenants’ and captains’ union. The proposed contract, which covers about 19 members of the
Tacoma Police Management Association, includes a 2.5 percent pay raise,
increases in the city’s contributions toward deferred compensation and
post-retirement medical expense programs, and a new requirement for employees
wishing to receive an annual $2,500 “merit allowance.” It will cost the city an estimated $99,300 in extra pay and
benefits, according to budget director Diane Supler. Missing from the agreement is language calling for annual
performance evaluations of police managers – a step recommended in a 2001
audit of the department. Union and city officials continue discussions on the
subject and could reach an agreement outside of a labor contract. Also not included is any mention of citizen oversight of the
police department, something the City Council approved in June despite
objections from both unions that represent the majority of police employees. Parts of the oversight plan, which calls for an independent
auditor to review the work of a the police
department’s internal affairs section, will likely need to be negotiated with
the labor unions before they can be enacted. It’s expected to be an issue in the next contract negotiations,
said Lt. Bob Sheehan, vice president of Local 26 and the union’s lead
negotiator. In keeping with other union contracts the city has negotiated
recently, the proposed agreement is considered relatively modest and
reflective of the city’s strained financial position. It covers just one year
– the same amount of time as the union’s last labor agreement, and the same
as the city’s latest agreement with the larger Tacoma Police Union Local 6. The seemingly perpetual bargaining is exhausting, Sheehan said. Counting the talks for the 2004 contract, the two sides have
been negotiating almost nonstop for more than two years. Negotiations on a contract
covering 2006 will begin once the 2005 agreement is finalized. “It’s draining, emotionally tough,” Sheehan said. “But I think
both sides worked very hard and came up with a fair and reasonable
agreement.” Kelly Rupert, lead negotiator for the city, said the proposed
contract is a good deal for both sides. “I’m thrilled with the agreement,” she said, noting that the
city resolved grievances with the union that held the potential to land the
two sides in arbitration. For example, the union felt that the city didn’t abide by all
the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement when it contracted with
the Washington State Patrol to investigate city and police employees after
the David Brame shootings, Rupert said. During negotiations, the city acknowledged that communication
“wasn’t as clear as it should’ve been,” she said. The next time the city
contracts with a third party, city officials will make sure the third party
will has a copy of the collective bargaining and a reminder that the city expects
it to be followed, Rupert said. A court fight over the release of records related to the WSP’s investigation arose after the two sides reached a
tentative agreement and didn’t affect contract talks, officials from both
sides said. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled Oct. 12 before the State
Court of Appeals. The union wants to block the release of thousands of pages of
records related to the WSP investigation, the bulk
of which has not been released to the public. Investigators from the state patrol examined allegations of
misconduct against 33 city and police employees, including eight members of
Local 26. The City of Tacoma and The News Tribune are arguing in favor of
releasing the records. In August, city leaders announced they would release all records
related to the investigation. The decision came in response to a renewed
request for the documents by The News Tribune. The City Council is expected to vote on the proposed contract at
its regular meeting tonight. CONTRACT DETAILS Highlights of the proposed 2005 Tacoma police management labor
agreement: • 2.5 percent cost-of-living pay increase, effective
Jan. 1, 2005 • Increases employer match to deferred compensation
accounts from $154 to $192 per pay period, effective the first pay period of
2006 • One-time lump sum payment of $988 to deferred
compensation accounts of eligible employees in lieu of retroactive 2005
payments • Increases contributions to employee VEBA (Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association)
tax-free medical expense accounts from $35 to $50 per month • Requires employees complete at least one continuing
education class, in addition to other requirements, to become eligible for
the annual $2,500 merit allowance NEW WAGE RATES: Captain – $103,397 to $108,576 Lieutenant – $89,918 to
$94,411 Three-year police pact sent to Jupiter Council for approval Workforce housing also on the agenda
From TC
Palm.com, October 5, 2005 Jupiter Town Council was scheduled to discuss and vote upon the
three-year $15 million police union contract, which has been in negotiation
for several months. As part of the contract agreement between the town and
the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, Inc., an ad hoc
committee would be established to develop recommendations for police pension
reform. These recommendations would be considered by both the Town Council
and the police pension board, once the recommendations are made in March
2006. The new contract includes pay raises for police officers from a
minimum of $37,343 this year to $38,463 in 2006 and from a maximum of $60,642
this year to $62,462 for 2006. Sergeants would see their minimum go from $44,755 to $46,097 and
their maximum salaries from $72,052 to $74, 213 in 2006, while the
communications officers who earned the minimum of $33,158 this year would see
an increase to $34,152 next year. The maximum for a communications officer
would be raised from $48,106 to $49,549. Lieutenants will be negotiating their contracts at a later date.
At the beginning of the meeting, Palm Beach County Commissioner
Karen Marcus was scheduled to speak about workforce housing and the county's
mission to increase this type of housing. During the quarterly Town of Jupiter Beautification Awards, the
residents of Jupiter Landings were to be honored for working diligently to
clean up and repair their homes after the September 2004 hurricanes. Also to be recognized was the Circle K store at 600 Center
Street, which has added new landscaping, fencing to hide its dumpsters and
installed new signage. The town councilors were scheduled to discuss the purchase of a
third piece of land as part of the Green Bond funds. The Wiita
property is a three-acre parcel on the south side of Center Street, near the
angled intersection of Center with Indiantown Road. The price of the property
is $2.5 million and contains sensitive tidal mangrove habitat, which has Sims
Creek on its eastern and southern boundaries. On April 19, the Town Council
had approved the site plan for a 10,000 square foot professional building,
Oak Creek Professional Center, and several environmental requirements were
part of the approval. Also on the agenda was a presentation by Jupiter Yacht Club for
a six-story condo hotel, containing approximately 95 units. Report blasts
city union pay raises Calls for
changes in bargaining law From the Boston Globe, October 5, 2005 The generous pay raises and benefits handed out to labor unions
in recent years could jeopardize the city's ability to deliver services to
its residents, a new report warned yesterday. The report, from the business-backed Boston Municipal Research
Bureau, called for changes that would allow Boston to settle contracts more
quickly and make key management changes without negotiating them with city
unions. ''Collective bargaining is broken," the report said. As
labor costs soar, along with healthcare and pension costs, the city will be
unable to deliver anything but the most basic services, such as police and
fire protection, according to the report. ''You'll have fewer dollars for services like libraries and
parks," said bureau president Samuel R. Tyler. ''You have outdated laws
and practices that need to be changed." In a scramble to settle union contracts before last year's
Democratic National Convention, the Menino
administration agreed to $200 million in raises over four years, but gained
little in return, Tyler said. He proposed that the state law controlling public employee
bargaining be changed so that municipalities can unilaterally assign and
promote workers, subcontract, offer overtime, and hire part-timers, all steps
that are now subject to negotiation. In addition, Tyler wants legislation to encourage unions to
settle contracts faster, by limiting retroactive pay raises to one year and
forcing police and fire unions that delay bargaining with the city into
binding arbitration sooner. Leaders of city employee unions reacted swiftly to the report's
recommendations, saying they would oppose any effort to undermine their
bargaining power. ''Over my dead body," said Boston Police Patrolmen's
Association president Thomas J. Nee, whose union settled a contract on the
eve of the convention that gave members 14.5 percent in raises over four
years. Tyler ''wants to make us all indentured servants," Nee said. Jim Durkin -- spokesman for the American Federation of State,
County, and Municipal Employees -- said his union would also fight any move
to change state labor laws. ''AFSCME would strenuously oppose any effort to
infringe on our collective bargaining rights and would aggressively fight any
effort to weaken collective bargaining laws." Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he
supports the proposed labor law changes but believes that the Legislature is
unlikely to approve them, given the political strength of unions on Beacon
Hill. ''Is it a possibility? No. It is not realistic," Menino said. ''You're telling me we'll get legislation to
reform labor laws? It's not going to happen." Menino said he is
instead pushing bills to increase the city's revenue, such as closing
loopholes for telecommunications companies, a change that would put an extra
$45 million in the city's coffers each year. He is also pushing for a city
tax on restaurant meals. The report also said that city health insurance costs are
soaring, to $211.5 million this fiscal year, an 11.2 percent jump from last
year. Tyler recommended that the city push for legislation to set up a
group insurance commission, similar to the one used by the state to contain
healthcare costs. While the city's medical costs have increased 73 percent
over five years, the state's have risen only 57
percent, Tyler said. A group insurance commission would have the power to negotiate
with insurance companies, design plans, and determine coverage, copayments, and deductibles unilaterally, without union
input. ''If you can't control health plan design, you can't control health
insurance costs," Tyler said. ''It's an unsustainable situation in terms
of double-digit increases in health insurance costs." But such a change would also meet resistance from the city's
unions, which have fought more modest changes, such as the city's elimination
of one HMO plan last year. Three unions filed grievances, which are pending. Pension costs are making up an increasing portion of the city
budget, the report said. That's in part because city officials have provided
extra benefits that count toward employee pensions. The Quinn bill, which pays thousands of dollars extra to police
officers who earn college degrees, has swelled the city's pension liability,
as have recent labor contracts allowing employees to buy back vacation time
and count the extra time toward their pension, the report said. In addition, weak investment performance, an early retirement
incentive offered in 2002, and the benefit structure combined to require a
payment of $186.3 million this fiscal year, a 27.1 percent increase over last
year, Tyler said. According to the report, the average pension for a teacher who
retired in 2003 was $50,337. For a police officer, the average was $53,142
and for a firefighter, $49,164. ''City officials should resist any efforts to modify collective
bargaining contracts that would expand benefits that would add to employee
compensation and be considered pension eligible," said the report. The
city's pension benefit is ''very generous . . . in this economy, and there is
no need to enrich it further at taxpayers' expense," the report said. Police union takes aim at Boughton Inflatable rat greets mayor outside City Hall From the NEWS-TIMES, October 6, 2005 DANBURY — Police kicked off a week of
protests against Mayor Mark Boughton on Tuesday by
erecting a 10-foot tall inflatable rat across from City Hall. The rat, usually erected by unions
upset when companies hire non-union employees, was part of a protest that
drew some 40 Danbury police officers, who are upset at contract negotiations
with city officials. The rat had a "Boughton" sign affixed to its chest. Officers paced
the sidewalk at the corner the intersection of Deer Hill Avenue, West Street
and New Street with signs reading "Crime doesn't pay. Neither does the
city of Danbury." Boughton called the giant rat "silly and childish." "It's not going to help the
dialogue. And I think the taxpayers will see what that is all about. This
should be about striking a deal that is fair to both parties and to the
taxpayers," Boughton said. The rat's presence was not supported
by police union president Tony Maher, who was not on duty at the time of the
protest and did not participate. However, other union members wanted
the rat there. Police have been working without a
contract since July 2003 and haven't received a raise in more than three
years. Most Danbury police officers make between $42,000 and $53,000 a year. Twice this year and most recently
last month, the union overwhelmingly rejected offers from the city, even
though the proposals would have increased their pay by 12 percent over four
years. It also would have resolved a
longstanding pension discrepancy between older police officers and those who
joined the department after 1983. Neither vote was even close. In May,
the vote was 135 to 0. On Sept. 9, a modified offer was defeated 117 to 9. After the September rejection, the
contract went to binding arbitration. One arbitration session has been held,
and two more are set for later this month. The remaining hang-up, union
officials said, is the city's insistence that police accept a medical
insurance plan that would increase their out-of-pocket expenses while
providing less coverage. Detective Jim Hicks, a member of the
police union's executive board, was part of Tuesday's City Hall protest. He
said the union doesn't want Boughton driven from
office, even though the union is stepping up protests with a Nov. 8 mayoral
election looming. "We just want to see him do
right by the Danbury Police Department," Hicks said. "We want to
get our message to the public about our issues with the city." Hicks said the most pressing problem
within the police department is manpower. The department is short on bodies
and two more officers recently put in for retirement. Dean Esposito, the Democrat
challenging Boughton for the mayor's office, said
Tuesday's rat shows the frustration of local cops. "It shows how upset the police
are with this administration. It's unfortunate the
citizens of Danbury had to see that. I believe the police have to take it to
the limit in order to get support from the residents," Esposito said. The protest was the first of three
planned this week by the police union. Police said they will picket at Ethan
Allen Inn today, where Boughton will be appearing
with Gov. M. Jodi Rell at a meeting of the Rotary
Club. Police will also protest at an event later this week at Tarrywile Park. Under the union's current insurance
plan, Anthem Century Preferred, police pay five percent of the cost of their
medical insurance, which totals $19,065 per year for those under the family
plan. The city wanted the union to accept a
plan which costs about $18,800 per officer for family coverage, and pay 12
percent of the premiums. The new plan also includes higher fees for office
visits. Port
Authority police union OKs contract proposal From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 06, 2005 The union representing Port Authority police has accepted a
state fact-finder's recommendations for a new labor contract. "We had a positive vote," said Sgt. Shawn Hudzinski, president of the Port Authority Transit Police
Association, which has two bargaining units -- one representing 36 patrolmen,
and one representing seven sergeants and lieutenants. The authority's board of directors will hold a special meeting
at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday to consider the recommendations drawn up by Robert
Gifford, a lawyer from State College, appointed by the Pennsylvania Labor
Relations Board as the neutral fact-finder for all four of the agency's
expired contracts. If the board endorses Mr. Gifford's report in its entirety, the
report will serve as the basis for a new contract with the police union. If not, both parties will be asked to restart negotiations
before a state mediator. The PLRB is keeping Mr. Gifford's
recommendations for the police contract confidential pending board action. The authority and Local 85, Amalgamated Transit Union, have not
been progressing as well. Last month, both parties rejected the fact-finder's report
covering more than 2,300 union members who operate, clean and maintain the
buses and trolleys that provide 240,000 rides a day. The parties have neither met recently nor scheduled new
meetings. Having rejected fact-finding, Local 85 has a legal right to
strike. Union leaders have not indicated plans to take any job action thus
far. PLRB spokesman
Christopher Manlove yesterday confirmed that Local
85 has notified the agency that the union has rejected a fact-finder's report
issued last Friday, covering a separate bargaining unit for 187 first-level
supervisors -- garage foremen, route foremen, instructors and dispatchers. Local 85 last year won an arbitration proceeding
that granted an extra $1 an hour pay differential to the supervisors, raising
their regular wage to $24.39 an hour. The contract with Local 85's main bargaining unit expired June
30. Contracts with the first-level supervisors and transit police expired
July 31. Union wage
freeze offer From the Hampton Union (NH), September 30, 2005 HAMPTON - All six unions in town have made an offer to halt
negotiations and to continue operating under their current contracts for the
next two years without a cost of living increase. That was the message the unions delivered in person at Monday
night’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Dave Lang, who acted as spokesman for the unions, said they
wanted to do something to help taxpayers and the town, which has been working
under a default budget for the last two years. However, Selectmen Chairman Jim Workman read a prepared
statement before Lang spoke and said on the advice of the town attorney that
the board wouldn’t discuss the offer in a public setting. Workman said the state Public Employee Labor Relations Board
recently issued a ruling against the town brought by the Hampton Police
Association. "This ruling indicated that communication outside the
parameters of the collective bargaining agreement constituted an unfair labor
practice," said Workman. "Any and all ideas, suggestions or comments in any way
related to wages, hours or working conditions must be heard by and brought
through the negotiating teams appointed by the respective entities and cannot
and will not be entertained this evening," said Workman. In his comments, Lang said, "We have watched the town
struggle with the second default budget and can see the impacts on the
streets, town office, police station and fire station. We are seeing
taxpayers being forced to make decisions that they do not want to make, based
on dollars. We want to help." Lang said all the unions have agreed to extend the life of the
current contract by two years. All contracts currently expire on March 31,
2006. "We are offering to take the signature page of the current
contracts and extend them, as is, for two years in order to give the
taxpayers a break for two years, to steady the course and move ahead,"
said Lang. The move would save the town time and energy as well as legal
expenses that go along with negotiating a new contract for each of the six
unions, said Lang. "We hope you consider our offer by the employees to hold
the line and stay status quo," said Lang. "This is the right thing
to do and is right for the taxpayers." On Wednesday, Selectwoman Ginny Bridle-Russell said she would
not comment on the unions’ offer. Selectman Ben Moore said, "I can’t comment on that because
we are in negotiations. We have already had two negotiating sessions with
three of the six unions." Steve Henderson, president of the Hampton Police Association,
said if selectmen accept the offer it will be a huge savings. "The big savings would be on attorney fees," said
Henderson. "We plan to sit back and wait to see if they take us up on
our offer. There are not too many groups out there that would do this and
give up a cost of living increase. The ball is in their court." State worker unions
flexing muscle They're
spending millions to thwart governor and his ballot measures. From the Sacramento Bee, September 26, 2005 In
their counterattack against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger leading up to the Nov.
8 special election, the unions that represent 1.3 million public employees in
California are muscling up as never before. According to the secretary of state's office, public employee
unions this year have created more than 180 political fundraising committees
that are raising and spending money by the tens of millions to defeat four
ballot initiatives supported by Schwarzenegger. Mostly, the money's been spent ripping into the Republican
governor and knocking his approval ratings below 40 percent - illustrating
once again the political power of public employee unions that have scored
major victories over the years on matters ranging from school funding to the
salaries of correctional officers. "Up until the end of 1998, public employee unions were among
the most powerful special interests in California," said GOP political
consultant Mark Bogetich. "Since that time,
they have spent tens of millions of dollars and now own the California
political system lock, stock and barrel. And unfortunately, taxpayers are
going to get stuck paying the bills for decades to come." Public employee unions make no apologies for their wage and
benefit gains. But they say they've also put their time, effort and money
into projects that have improved society. They say they've been the driving force behind campaigns that
built fire stations in Los Angeles and classrooms in Burbank, and reopened
libraries in San Jose. They say they've battled to put more cops on the
streets in Colton and Pinole, and to retrofit police and fire stations in
Fremont. "We do have a voice, but many times that voice is not only
a voice for ourselves, but also a voice for the public," said Lou
Paulson, president of the California Professional Firefighters. "We have
a bigger perspective on many issues." As of June 30, union committees had spent about $20 million on
political campaigns this year. From July 1 through Sept. 20, they directly
contributed an additional $33.2 million to seven campaign committees fighting
the four special election initiatives. The California Teachers Association -
which has pledged to spend $50 million fighting the governor's agenda - alone
has accounted for $27 million in direct contributions since July 1, according
to the secretary of state's records. In the 2003-04 legislative session, 40
public employee unions contributed $52.2 million to candidates and causes
through 120 political committees. Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in
Los Angeles, summed up the public employee unions' influence in a single
word: "Tremendous," he said. At the local level, political contributions have helped elect
county supervisors, city council members and school board members who sign
off on their workers' labor contracts. In Sacramento, Stern said, public employee unions "have
veto power over bills." In an effort to dilute the unions' financial clout,
Schwarzenegger is now backing Proposition 75 on the fall ballot. The measure
would require public employee unions to obtain the annual written consent of
their members before spending any of their dues money on politics. While it's not clear how the measure would play out if it
passes, labor advocates say it is a one-sided effort to take them out of the
political game and clear the field for big business. "The notion that they somehow shouldn't be allowed to
participate in the political process because they're a special interest and
big business is not a special interest is sort of a ridiculously contorted,
basically anti-democratic sentiment," said Capitol labor lobbyist Barry
Broad. Public employee unions, with their money and the squadrons of
volunteers they can deploy to walk precincts and work phone banks up and down
the state, have established themselves as gigantic players in Sacramento over
the past 25 years. They won perhaps their biggest victory in 1988 when the
California Teachers Association - the largest union in the state,
representing 335,000 people - succeeded in passing Proposition 98, a ballot
measure that locked in about 40 percent of state spending on public
education. The teachers also helped fight off a special election initiative
in 1993 that would have established a voucher plan in California. Correctional officers, meanwhile, scored themselves significant
pay raises under three governors, two of them Republicans - George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson - and the third a Democrat,
Gray Davis, whose election in 1998 came after a huge union-funded television
campaign in the Central Valley. It was under Davis that public employee unions enjoyed some of
their most prominent gains. SB 400, which Davis signed in 1999, boosted pension benefits for
many retired workers by 1 percent to 6 percent and allowed new employees
hired under a second-tier plan earlier that decade to buy into the top-tier
package. In 2000, the Davis approved SB 402, which granted binding
arbitration rights to police and firefighters and thereby submitted economic
disputes that had reached impasse to third-party authorities for resolution. The same year, the CTA, which had been
threatening to sponsor an initiative to force the state to increase school
spending to the national average, dropped the plan after the governor agreed
with legislative Democrats to increase public education funding by $1.8
billion, with some of it going to salaries. In 2002, Davis signed a bill granting more lucrative public
safety pensions to more than 3,200 employees represented by the California
Union of Safety Employees, even though his Department of Personnel
Administration had long contended that the workers didn't qualify for the
benefit. The union contributed about $500,000 to Davis that year. This year, the unions have used their force to fight back
against Proposition 75 and the three ballot measures Schwarzenegger proposed
for the special election ballot. Schwarzenegger's Proposition 74 would extend public school
teachers' probationary periods by three years. His Proposition 76 would give
more budget-cutting authority to the governor, and Proposition 77 would take
redistricting power away from the Legislature and place it in the hands of a
panel of retired judges. In recent speeches to supporters, Schwarzenegger has
characterized himself as being "bloodied but unbowed" by the
unions' onslaught. For much of 2005, he has vilified "government
employee union bosses" who he says must be defeated if he is to have any
chance on his overhaul plan. "Union bosses" kept the Legislature from enacting his
complete "reform" agenda, he said in an interview with The Bee last
week. "They are running the state," he said. Their end game,
he said in a recent speech in Fresno, is to "get more benefits for
themselves, and more health care for themselves, and
all the things for themselves." Ray McNally, a strategist for the campaign that is opposing
Schwarzenegger, said the public employee unions are only going after the
governor because he "declared war" on them. "He sucker-punched them," McNally said. "He took
them out for a good public whipping, thinking it would propel him to
re-election." Now, the unions are trying to make him pay, with the TV and
radio ads and 1960s-style protests at Schwarzenegger's fundraisers where they
scream in the faces of his contributors, "Shame on you." Since September 2004, Schwarzenegger's approval ratings have
fallen from 65 percent to 36 percent among registered voters, according to
the independent Field Poll. Even some supporters of the governor's agenda think the union
attacks on Schwarzenegger are now taking their toll on his initiatives. "If you taint the messenger, you corrupt the message,"
said longtime conservative activist and Proposition 75 author Lew Uhler. "And to the
extent that Schwarzenegger has been tainted, then the impact of his message
has been reduced."
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