Cops Entering FDNY Back At Bottom on Pay; Council Enacts Deal Made Under UFA Wage Accord

Cops Entering FDNY Back At Bottom on Pay; Council Enacts Deal Made Under UFA Wage Accord

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Police Officers transferring into the Fire Department will now start at rookie pay - regardless of seniority accrued in the NYPD - as the result of an amendment to the Administrative Code that the City Council approved April 5. The Mayor signed the bill into law April 10. The change in the Administrative Code was part of the contract deal reached last June between the city and the Uniformed Firefighters' Association. It generated some of the savings demanded by the city to even out the costs between that deal and an earlier contract for the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

STEPHEN J. CASSIDY: Evened out PBA costs.

Pension Rights Intact

In exchange for wage increases totaling nearly 17 percent over four years, the union agreed not to oppose legislation stripping Police Officers of their long-held right to transfer into the FDNY without loss of pay or seniority. Only their pension benefits remain the same.

PBA President Patrick J. Lynch did not publicly lobby against the bill, but he argued that the measure was another tactic the NYPD was using to stem the flow of cops seeking to transfer to other agencies and jurisdictions. "Shy of paying Police Officers a fair and competitive salary, they'll do anything to stop the exodus of Police Officers leaving for better jobs," he said in an April 7 e-mail. "They've even gone as far as to deny access to personnel records to the Port Authority Police, the FBI and the Secret Service to prevent officers from leaving."

FDNY officials delayed the graduation ceremony for the most recent class of Probationary Firefighters, which contained 16 former Police Officers, by one week so the Council could fast-track the legislation. That class was expected to be sworn in April 11, as this newspaper appeared on stands.

The city estimated the change in law would generate $1.5 million in savings the first year and between $4.5 and $5 million thereafter.

City Council Member Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., who chairs the Committee on Civil Service and Labor, held a sparsely-attended hearing April 4 on the legislation.

"I got a phone call from the Mayor asking me to hold this hearing," Mr. Addabbo said. "It's not the most convenient thing for me, as head of the Civil Service and Labor Committee, but it has to happen in order to change the law, and I wasn't going to deny the Mayor this."

PBA a No-Show

With nobody from the PBA there to testify, although the Councilman said he had reached out to them, and UFA officials busy in the next room testifying at a separate hearing on equipment safety issues, the hearing was "merely a formality," according to Mr. Addabbo. The sole statement was made by Labor Relations Commissioner James F. Hanley, who said it was "important to note that this was a voluntary agreement that was negotiated at the bargaining table," and the savings associated with the amendment had already been applied to the UFA contract.

"If this proposed bill was not enacted, the parties would be required to re-open negotiations and the UFA would be obligated to provide the city with some form of equivalent savings," Mr. Hanley cautioned. "Neither party wishes that to happen."

UFA President Stephen J. Cassidy declined to comment on the proceedings, although a union representative submitted a memo of agreement to Mr. Hanley as he finished testifying.

At the full Council hearing last week, 10 members voted against the measure. Mr. Addabbo voted for it.