Calls City Unreasonable: Jail Capts. Union Seeks Arbitration

Calls City Unreasonable
Jail Capts. Union Seeks Arbitration

The Correction Captains' Association last week petitioned the Office of Collective Bargaining to declare an impasse in its stalled contract talks, charging that the city has failed to negotiate in good faith by demanding that it create an annual 48-hour overtime bank without direct compensation.

PETER D. MERINGOLO: 'City won't bargain fairly.' "I would rather negotiate at the table," said CCA President Peter D. Meringolo, who has never sought arbitration during his 15-year tenure. "But they have no desire to negotiate. I've been at the table and it's a lopsided table."

City: News to Us

Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley said he was unaware of the CCA's petition until a reporter from this newspaper contacted him seeking comment. "I think that's indicative of what we are dealing with here," he remarked. "Our position is that the same amount of savings that every other uniformed union generated is appropriate here as well."

The city's uniformed supervisory unions have been placed at a disadvantage by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association arbitration award issued last summer under the aegis of the Public Employment Relations Board.

That deal, which provided cops with 10.25 percent in raises over two years, was partly financed by drastically slashing the starting salary and pay scale for future Police Officers, among other concessions. Because uniformed officers above the entry rank have a lower attrition rate than Police Officers, the city's savings from those unions' concessions would be less, prompting the Bloomberg administration to demand added givebacks from supervisory unions such as the CCA to even out the costs. "I can't get the credit that a big union does," Mr. Meringolo said. The CCA represents approximately 900 Captains. In contrast, the PBA represents 24,508 cops and the Detectives' Endowment Association represents 5,400 officers.

JAMES F. HANLEY: Deal waiting to be made. According to Mr. Meringolo, he has offered to have his members work longer tours and to reduce vacation time in order to create the 4.24 percent in savings the city is demanding to finance raises matching the PBA award. "They've told me they are not interested in what I'm offering," he said. "Extra minutes would definitely cut back in overtime and added training, and the value they gave me is so minuscule it's almost an insult to my intelligence."

Hanley: Wrong Tree

Mr. Hanley retorted, "Those of us who spend most of our time resolving our contracts at the bargaining table, in lieu of interviews or press statements, almost always settle contracts."

The city, Mr. Meringolo contended, is seeking to have Captains work their first 48 hours of overtime each year without compensation. "You don't ask someone to fund their raise like that," he charged. "Picture your boss asking you to work for nothing."

He added, "There are many other ways we can do this contract - that should not be one of them."

Mr. Hanley maintained, "The city is not insisting on any one type of approach."

Many veteran uniformed union leaders have said that this round of bargaining has been the most difficult they have experienced due to the attrition-based pattern set by the PBA award.

Sidney Schwartzbaum, the president of the Assistant Deputy Wardens'/Deputy Wardens' Association, noted that his union already has a similar overtime bank requirement. That concession and others like it, he added, have discouraged officers in the Correction Department and other city agencies from seeking promotions.

His union, which represents 160 supervisors, has had three negotiating sessions with the city. "The last meeting was a much better meeting," he remarked. Arbitration, he added, often takes close to a year and should only be a last resort. "Arbitrating a contract is similar to walking into a restaurant and letting a waiter feed you what he wants," he commented.

Says Horn Favors COBA

Mr. Meringolo, who has been locked in a bitter dispute with Correction Commissioner Martin F. Horn, said he believes that battle has affected his contract negotiations. "It is my belief that the Commissioner only cared about settling with the Correction Officers' union," he charged. "He's looking to desecrate my union."

Tom Antenen, the Correction Department's chief spokesman, countered, "That's preposterous. The Commissioner is not involved in labor negotiations."

Mr. Meringolo asserted that his move to petition OCB to declare an impasse "must tell you something's unfair." He continued, "In 15 years it's never been this bad. My members are very antsy."