Deal Raises Officers’ Pay 4% a Year (original) (raw)

Aug. 21, 2008

Avoiding arbitration for the first time since 1994, the primary police officers’ union reached a tentative four-year contract with New York City on Thursday that gives raises of 4 percent a year and increases starting salaries to nearly $42,000.

The union, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, which represents 23,000 police officers, said the agreement narrowed the salary gap with suburban police forces, a gap that has made it difficult for the city to recruit new officers. The contract covers two more years, with two years of retroactive increases.

The agreement, which was reached at the bargaining table, was unusual because negotiations between the police union and the city have been notoriously nasty, protracted fights traditionally settled only through an arbitration panel.

“I’ve never been shy to stand on the steps of City Hall and say I didn’t agree with something,” said Patrick J. Lynch, the union’s president. “Well, I am equally not shy to stand inside City Hall and say when something is right. This is right. Our members should be very proud of this contract.”

With the economy in a downturn, union officials felt pressure to seek raises through negotiations rather than through a lengthy arbitration process, which might have produced an unfavorable outcome.

The annual raises of 4 percent are higher than the historic average for the city’s municipal contracts. But they still lag behind the rapid growth in consumer prices over the last year, a rise of nearly 6 percent.

At a City Hall news conference, Mr. Lynch and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg stood together beaming, after years of criticizing each other.

Mr. Bloomberg said, “I have always believed the best contracts are those that are reached at the bargaining table, and I think this is a good example of that.”

The agreement will increase starting pay to 41,975bytheendofthenewcontract,upfrom41,975 by the end of the new contract, up from 41,975bytheendofthenewcontract,upfrom35,881 under the old contract. It also increases base pay to 76,488afterfiveandahalfyearsonthejob,upfrom76,488 after five and a half years on the job, up from 76,488afterfiveandahalfyearsonthejob,upfrom65,382 under the old contract.

The new agreement, on which the rank and file will vote over several weeks, runs from Aug. 1, 2006, through July 31, 2010.

Thursday’s agreement comes just three months after an arbitration panel awarded police officers a retroactive raise of 9.7 percent for the period from Aug. 1, 2004, through July 31, 2006, while significantly raising starting pay for that period to an annual rate of 35,881from35,881 from 35,881from25,100.

Police Department officials had complained bitterly about that $25,100 starting rate which had been ordered by an arbitration panel saying that it created huge difficulties for efforts to recruit enough police officers.

Mayor Bloomberg applauded the new starting salary, saying, “We believe this will help make the job more attractive to potential recruits so we can continue to attract even more top-quality candidates.”

These negotiations had been carefully watched because New York City faces yawning budget gaps over the next several years. Mr. Bloomberg estimates a $2 billion shortfall in 2010.

City officials said Thursday’s agreement would increase payroll costs by $540 million over the four years. The 4 percent raises were based on a pattern set last year in a contract with the police sergeants’ union. City officials said they had already budgeted for the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association’s 4 percent increases.

Union officials said they were also pleased that longevity pay increments, which police officers receive after 5, 10, 15 and 20 years on the job, would increase at the same rate as the basic pay, helping to lift pay for officers with greater seniority.

Traditionally, longevity pay remained unchanged, even as various contracts increased the police officers’ starting pay and maximum basic pay.

The city’s contribution to the union’s welfare fund will also increase, with the city also contributing a $400 one-time payment to each officer.

In a victory for the union, shooting range practice will be conducted on a work day rather than on a vacation day, as the previous contract provided.

In a concession to the city, the union agreed to drop six lawsuits.

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