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POLICEPAY.NET
NEGOTIATION TRAINING JANUARY 18-19 -
JULY 26-27 -
City pulls
police raise off table From the The city's police union is furious with Mayor Bart Peterson for
taking back his offer to give officers a retroactive pay raise for 2006 and
instead spending the money on fixes for the criminal justice system. City attorneys informed the negotiating team for FOP Lodge 86
late last week that there was no money left in the budget. The Indianapolis
Police Department officers have been working under the terms of the 2005
contract with the expectation that a 2006 contract agreement would include retroactive pay raises. In July, the union rejected Peterson's offer of a 5 percent pay
raise and retroactive pay by a narrow margin of members voting. Since then,
the two sides have been negotiating sporadically with a mediator as the union
sought changes for longevity pay. A union press release said the city never
mentioned a deadline for acceptance or retracting its original offer. The IPD and Marion County Sheriff's Department will merge on
Jan. 1 and the sheriff's deputies have a contract that already included 2006
pay raises. City officials budgeted for pay parity for next year, when
officers from the two departments begin working side by side. City Controller Bob Clifford said the cost of parity and the
cost of retroactive pay are the same -- about $4.3 million for one year. He
said the city indicated in September that it spent down all reserves to fund
the 2007 budget, including $7.3 million for more jail beds, prosecutors,
public defenders and courts. "They turned our offer down," said Deputy Mayor Steve
Campbell. "Retroactive pay is off the table now. It was never part of
the (2007) budget." From the Voice, December 21,
2006
Those factors pull the officer's take-home pay -- a measure of
both salary and benefits -- near the bottom of 19 other forces in and around Lieutenants fare the best of any position at the San Diego
Police Department, landing well below the median at the 17th percentile. The study, a copy of which was obtained by voiceofsandiego.org, was
commissioned by the Mayor's Office in the face of growing concern regarding
the flight of police officers from the department. The bulk of the city's
departures have come from retirements, an experience similar to other law
enforcement agencies. The union failed to come to a labor agreement with Sanders this
year and former Mayor Dick Murphy in 2005, allowing the city to impose
contracts upon its members. Officers last received a 3 percent raise in
December 2004 under contracts finalized in early 2003. A police recruit who is
single with no dependants earns a maximum of $40,810 a year in take-home pay.
That sum is the lowest amount of all the agencies surveyed. The median amount
in this category was $47,752. A senior police officer
below the rank of sergeant (only one in six cops are above the sergeant pay
grade) with a family earns a maximum of $56,152 a year in take-home pay. That
sum ranks among the 6th percentile of the agencies surveyed. The median
amount in this category was $64,973. A police sergeant with a
family earns a maximum of $69,308 a year in take-home pay. That sum ranks
among the 6th percentile of the agencies surveyed. The median amount in this
category was $83,060. Officers'
defined-benefit pension plan is in line with other agencies in benefits.
However, officers contribute at a higher rate -- 13.12 percent of their
salary -- than any other department surveyed by consultants. The city,
through the labor negotiation process, has agreed to "pick up" 4.1
percent of that, leaving officers paying a total of 9.02 percent. "It paints the picture of what most people expected,"
said Bill Maheu, the executive assistant chief of
police operations, of the report. Council: Give cops salary
increase Police Association proposes hike to meet state's
average From the
Caller-Times, December 20, 2006
Police officers' pay in The base pay for a 30-year veteran in the Corpus Christi Police
Department is $53,851 compared with $65,093 in The council action came following an executive session hours after
association president Domingo Ibarra spoke before council members for the
second consecutive meeting, pushing for the council's help resolving a
contract negotiation impasse. After the council's announcement, association leaders and city
negotiators agreed on some terms, Ibarra said. Both sides agreed on a 3
percent raise in the contract's first year and some form of average, or index
tied to average statewide police salaries, system to determine a pay raise
beginning the contract's third year, he said. The association wants salary increases of 3 percent for the new
contract's first year retroactive to July, then a 4 percent raise in the
second year and a 5 percent raise in the third year, Ibarra said. In the
proposed contract's fourth year, the association is asking for officers' pay
to be linked to a scale based on the state average for police officer's
salary. An index system beginning in the contract's third year also
would be acceptable, Ibarra said. "It sounds like we're a lot closer to working out our
differences," Ibarra said. "We're willing to go back to the table
next week and listen to the city's proposition." Police officers have been without a contract since July and have
been negotiating a new contract for 10 months. The only sticking point is the
amount of the association's pay raise, officials from both sides said. "The council feels like this has gone on long enough and we want to put the contract to bed," said Mayor Henry
Garrett. "We hope to get this resolved real quick."
Setting salary according to an index system is a new concept for
most on the council, but council members decided including the feature into a
new contract is a positive mood, Garrett said. Association members were considering putting the issue before voters
because no progress had been made determining officer salary increases,
Ibarra said before the meeting. About 30 officers attended the meeting, and most left after
Ibarra spoke in the opening minutes. The Corpus Christi Firefighters Association and the city reached
a tentative contract agreement during the weekend in that group's extended
contract negotiations with the city. Fire association president Carlos Torres
said Monday association members could approve the contract by the first week
in January. The associations for the firefighters and police are able to
negotiate as a group with the city during contract negotiations because Breakthrough
in Santa Barbara City-Police Negotiations Details will not be released until Thursday From KSBY, December 18, 2006 After more than 9 months of negotiations, the City of After rejecting the city's last best and final offer four times,
city negotiators have come up with a new contract that top union officials
say could seal the deal. The city had offered its police officers an unprecedented pay
hike of 24% over three years -- a deal that would pay
the average cop over $100,000. But, according to the union, it wasn't enough to stop officers
from leaving the department for jobs in But this afternoon there was a breakthrough. Both sides
announced they have reached an agreement. "There has been a lot of work on both sides," says
Mike McGrew with the Santa Barbara Police Department. "This is a large
contract. This is something that will hopefully fix the issue that we have
had at the Police Department. It took a lot of work to get here." Details will not be released until Thursday. That's when the
rank file officers vote on whether or not to accept the contract. If they do,
in January the City Council is expected to approve it. Now, the city had offered a 24% raise. Police officers wanted a
26% hike. While we don't know the terms of the contract yet, both sides say
it was a compromise. The Santa Barbara Police Officers Association will vote on the
contract Thursday night. From The
Police reject
contract containing 15% pay raise From the
THE DONNING
AND DOFFING JACKPOT The New Gold
Mine By Ronald J. York, President of POLICEPAY.NET, Inc. Donning and doffing is the hottest topic on the police beat today.
For those of you who have been barricaded in a log cabin in remote So what’s the point you ask?
Well, according to “brilliant legal minds” this extends the time that
a police officer must be compensated and if this new extended day is greater
than eight hours overtime must even be paid.
On what authority do “brilliant legal minds” base their claim for this
new found manna? The Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA). Oh, it’s been
changed you ask? No, nothing has
changed, except that “brilliant legal minds” have found this unenumerated and unarticulated concept hidden deep within
the law. They are slow learners. It took sixty years to find it, but they
found it. And, “no”, FLSA is not a
book in the Old Testament. Some lawyers
just think it is. So far, all I have discussed is Donning and Doffing Lite. The full
body lager reads like this – if you put on and take off your uniform at home,
your commute time is on the clock also.
Holy Cow! If you live in Rancho
Cucamonga and work in You can sue for back wages too.
How sweet it is. Before you
rush off to buy a million dollar summer home in Okay, how do I collect the money my employer has unlawfully
cheated me out of? I have good news,
it is easy. First, you call this
toll-free number 1 (800) THE-PIMP. You
answer a few simple questions. A form
is mailed to you. You sign and return
the form. The postage is pre-paid both
ways. You then just sit back in your
easy chair and sip on a cool Budweiser and wait for the check to come in the
mail. It is painless and it can
actually be fun. In a few weeks you
will probably see your mayor on television ranting and raving about the large
number of donning and doffing lawsuits.
Just keep sipping on a cool one and waiting for the check. What a country! Where
else can you stick it to the boss and win the lottery at the same time? This donning and doffing stuff is going to
be really big. I have even found a
stock market play that can increase your “winnings” – buy stock in
Vaseline. Maybe I should call that
into Jim Cramer on Mad Money. Before you pick up the phone to dial the toll free number, I
would like to present something for your consideration. Although the check you might receive looks
like manna from Heaven, it is not. It
is actually “fools gold.” What do you think
happens six months later when contract negotiations begin? Do you think that the mayor will
compartmentalize the issues and forget about your lawsuit? If he can, he is better man than me. Remember that jar of Vaseline? Well, the mayor stopped at Walgreens on his
way to negotiations to purchase a jar of Vaseline for his use. If you cannot
figure out what happens next, read The Merchant of Venice. You can get a CD version and listen to it
while you commute to Every dollar you might collect from a donning and doffing
lawsuit will come directly out of your pay matrix, along with loan shark rate
interest. People do not just idly sit
by and let other people run over them.
They retaliate. Employment is a
long-term relationship. To maximize
the benefits of a relationship you must cultivate it, not sabotage it. The people who are pushing these lawsuits
make their money from hostilities – hostilities that come back to bite you in
the butt. What should you do?
Rewrite your contract to make the dressing and undressing period
within the normal work day that you agreed to when you were hired. As for the guy in Forget about putting points on the board. Concentrate on the total compensation
package. If lawsuits were the secret
to success the underpaid large cities in the East would be making the big
bucks – they are not. Learn to lobby
and politic and your agency can become among the best paid. Oh, it’s hard work, certainly much more
than calling the toll-free number. Probably, the thing that bothers me the most about this donning
and doffing assault is how people who are frustrated by other people using
legal technicalities to avoid the intent of a law now find themselves using
the same methods when it is perceived to benefit them. When this issue is fully milked the toll
free number will not go silent. Some new convoluted concept will replace it. Think about it. I believe in your heart you know what to
do. 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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