CEA: Won't 'Stretch' Pay
City, Capts. Narrow Contract Differences

By REUVEN BLAU

Contract talks between the Captains' Endowment Association and city negotiators appear to be slowly progressing, city and union officials said last week.

JOHN F. DRISCOLL: Progress, but no deal.

The CEA, which represents 750 Captains, is the only NYPD supervisory union without a contract for the round of bargaining covering 2003 forward. The union met with city labor officials Sept. 25 after a "technical" gathering the previous week. The CEA's contract expired Oct. 31, 2003.

Haggle Over Value

Both sides appear to be haggling over the value of various concessions the union has offered in order to match the 4.24 percent in savings the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association generated under the attrition-based award issued by an arbitration panel in June 2005.

CEA President John F. Driscoll has said that he is seeking an agreement whose terms are similar to those the Lieutenants' Benevolent Association accepted in July. That contract, in contrast to three other police union pacts this round, did not reduce the starting salary for new members.

The LBA agreement, which was overwhelmingly ratified, provides 17 percent in raises over 50 months and 16 days, part of which will be financed by requiring newly promoted Lieutenants to work 13 additional tours and extending shifts for all persons in the rank.

Mr. Driscoll said that he is opposed to stretching out the salary schedule for newly promoted Captains and will look to negotiate extended tours as well.

Won't Use OT Grievance

But he noted during a Sept. 26 phone interview that the union has decided against using a recently filed grievance against the NYPD concerning overtime compensation as leverage in his negotiation. "I'm perfectly content to follow my next unfair labor practice [grievance] and see what happens with that," he remarked. The union, he added, is seeking to require the department to pay his members for the time deducted for being deemed over the cap. But the NYPD hasn't turned over the figures on how many officers have been affected, he noted.

Speaking about the contract negotiations, he added, "We've made slight progress, but we still have issues to resolve."