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POLICEPAY.NET
NEGOTIATION TRAINING NOVEMBER 9-10 -
JULY 26-27 - Santa Fe, NM (click here for information)
Tentative
Deal Would Boost Police Pay From The The West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association posted the
proposed contracts for officers, sergeants and lieutenants on its Web site
during the weekend. The documents suggest a 4.5 percent raise for the first
year and a 4 percent raise for the second and third years. The current contract expired Sept. 30. The proposed contract is
scheduled for a vote among union members Oct. 17 and 18, which would make the
proposed changes retroactive to Oct. 1. If the contract is approved, officers would earn from $42,286 to
$68,681 during this fiscal year and from $45,739 to $74,276 before the
contract expires Sept. 30, 2009. Sergeants would earn from $68,681 to $84,302 during this fiscal
year and from $74,276 to $91,187 during the contract's third year.
Lieutenants would earn from $85,113 to $92,414 during this fiscal year and
from $92,060 to $99,964 during the contract's third year. Other proposed changes in the contract include reimbursing
officers up to $400 for purchasing their own protective vests instead of
using department-issued ones. Union President Kevin Durkin could not be reached for comment
Monday. Police Chief Stephen Hogue declined to comment. Confrontation
at City Hall From the THE ISSUE: Instead of negotiation, compromise and statesmanship
on raises for police officers and firefighters, the mayor and City Council
are heading off to court. This isn't what you'd call the best use of Clearly, the Birmingham City Council wants to give a pay raise
to police officers and firefighters. Just as clearly, Mayor Bernard Kincaid wants it his way or no
way. Something must give - or nothing will get done. Or, if it does
get done, it'll happen in a poisoned atmosphere of bitterness and backbiting.
Kincaid and members of the City Council should be better than
that. They owe citizens and taxpayers more. The City Council, by a 7-1 vote Tuesday, overturned Kincaid's
veto of a 15 percent pay raise for police officers and firefighters.
Originally, the council approved the raises, set to start in 2008, by an 8-1
vote. Only six votes were needed to override Kincaid's veto. In characteristic form, Kincaid is ignoring the council's will
and says he'll take the dispute to court. And the council is not planning to
back down. "If he files an action against us, we will vigorously defend
our vote," said Council President Carole Smitherman.
That will cost taxpayers, since the city's legal department
represents both the City Council and the mayor's office. That means an
outside attorney will have to be hired. Obviously, there are more
constructive ways to use that money, but Kincaid acts more interested in
stubbornness than statesmanship. Coming into this latest dispute, there are some knowns: Public safety workers in Kincaid can't argue he's been blindsided. After three police
officers were killed in the line of duty in 2004, Kincaid himself singled out
public safety officers for increases: "We pledge to you that we will work to make our public
safety officials, both police and fire in the largest city in Kincaid says there should be a study to determine how well Fine. Do it. But it's also fair to ask the mayor why he didn't
undertake that study two years ago when he promised police officers and
firefighters would be "the highest paid in This is the third City Council Kincaid has "worked"
with - and it's the third council with which the mayor has had serious
disagreement. Kincaid and the council should discuss issues and resolve them
with only the best interests of Arbitrator
sides with city From The Independent Record, October 13, 2006 An arbitrator has sided with city officials in a drawn-out
contract battle with members of Local 2280 of the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents According to Payne, contract negotiations between the union and
the city began in April 2005, and quickly came to an impasse. Even meetings
with a mediator from the Montana Department of Labor couldn’t precipitate any
movement in the log jam blocking an agreement. Public safety
officers to get boost in pay Gwinnett police, fire department and sheriff's employees will
get an average 12.4 percent pay hike overall under a new salary plan. The pay raises will go into effect next January, County
Administrator Jock Connell said Monday. As part of the new plan, sworn correction employees also will
get a raise, an average increase of 9.7 percent. Other employees, including dispatchers
and other administrative employees, will receive an average 6 percent raise. County leaders said they created the new pay structure after
studying the salaries of officers in "Board members have said time and time again that this
[public safety] must be at the top of our priorities, and maintaining a
market-competitive pay structure plays a major role in being able to meet
that goal," Connell said in a statement. The salary plan, part of the county's proposed 2007 budget, will
cost $12.1 million, county officials said. Jim Fouchia, president of the Gwinnett
police union, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said he was
pleased with the proposed pay raises. "We are excited and very thankful to the commissioners for
this," Fouchia said. "This will make our
department competitive with any department in metro Under the new plan, police officer salaries will be placed on a
12-step pay grade, said Susan Lee, the county's human resources director. In
January, all sworn officers will be placed on that new salary structure.
Officers' pay will be rounded up to whatever step on the new salary structure
they are closest to, Lee said. Along with that pay increase, officers also
will receive a 5.5 percent "cost of living" raise in July, Lee
said. Officers with satisfactory work will move up a step on the new
pay scale by getting a 4 percent raise every year, Lee said. This is the second year county officials have addressed law
enforcement pay. In 2005, county officials gave rookie officers a 16 percent pay
hike to make Gwinnett's new officers among the
highest paid in the area. Entry-level pay jumped by more than $4,600, to
$33,197. New hires also got a $2,000 cash bonus during their first year on
the job. Sheriff's deputy rookies got a 10 percent raise and new firefighters
got a 6 percent hike. County officials said that although the total cost of next
year's proposed pay increase plan is significant, it is needed. "The Board of Commissioners is deeply committed to hiring —
and keeping — the best and the brightest men and women to protect and serve
the public," Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said. City dealings
with unions under way Contract negotiations secret, but not for long From the Argus Leader, October 9, 2006 They're called ground rules. Taxpayers, of course, have a vested interest in what happens.
After all, they pay the tab. The city's elected officials, meanwhile, have been keeping
abreast of those negotiations through briefings in executive sessions -
meetings that are closed to the public. "In the ground rules, I can't talk to you guys at
all." So said Loren McManus to a couple of reporters last week. McManus
is one of the negotiators for the Fraternal Order of Police, and - as the
department's spokesman - he's normally chatty with reporters. All he would say is that they are in negotiations and that the
membership hasn't ratified a contract. They might be secret now, but ultimately, the products that
emerge from those negotiations will be public. Once union members ratify
their contracts, the City Council will vote to adopt them in a public
meeting. "They're important issues to the city, and they're
important issues to the employees," said Holsen,
who has been involved in collective bargaining negotiations for the city
since 1986. Mayor Dave Munson said last week that he is working with the
city's negotiators to reach deals that are amenable to both the unions and
its employer. "We listen to what they have to say, and we tell them what
we can do," Munson said. CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS POLICEPAY provides
complete contract negotiations for your bargaining unit. We will:
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:
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 POLICEPAY.NET Your
Ultimate Solution For Contract Negotiations |
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