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Sergeant Deal: Start
at $73G, Top Pay $95G;
A Shortage in Rank The raises and other added benefits are designed to encourage more Police Officers to study for and take the Sergeants' exam. The NYPD has been struggling to generate enough qualified candidates, with only 225 officers out of the 3,866 applicants passing the Feb. 3, 2007 exam, based on preliminary results. The tentative deal could also place further pressure on the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, which is working under a contract that expired Aug. 1, 2004. The SBA deal, if ratified, would further cement a uniformed union pattern for the period expected to be covered in an upcoming PBA arbitration. Mayor Bloomberg alluded to the fact that the deal would further box in the PBA, which is seeking to break parity with other uniformed unions. "Everybody is reading everybody else's settlements, and this could give them reason to think about what could be done," he said after announcing the deal July 10 at his temporary headquarters at the Office of Emergency Management in downtown Brooklyn. Surprising Turnaround The proposed agreement was an astonishing change of position for SBA President Edward Mullins, who had repeatedly rejected the 3 percent and 3.15-percent raises that under the first two years of the deal would be effective June 1, 2005 and June 1, 2006, respectively, as below the rate of inflation. Asked about his change of heart, Mr. Mullins highlighted the added gains in the overall agreement and the maximum salary at the end of the deal. "The contract is important, now achieving six-figure salaries for Sergeants in the NYPD," he told reporters. Under the tentative agreement, all Sergeants will also receive 4-percent hikes effective June 1 this year and on June 1, 2008, which is consistent with the pattern established in March by the Uniformed Firefighters Association. The contract's last two years include 4-percent raises effective Aug. 1, 2009 and Aug. 1, 2010. The SBA used that two-month delay in each of those last two years to help fund added longevity increases, annuity boosts, and welfare fund raises. Top $100G With Benefits By Aug. 1, 2011, a veteran Sergeant's basic maximum salary would rise to $94,962, up from the prior $76,403. Senior Sergeants would see overall compensation reach $103,000 with longevity pay, holiday bonuses, uniform allowance, and other benefits. "The men and women of the Sergeants Benevolent Association play a vital part in keeping New York the safest big city in the nation - they deserve our gratitude and more," Mayor Bloomberg said. "This is very important for the future of the department." Under the tentative contract, new Sergeants will continue to reach maximum pay after five salary steps and four years, while those promoted prior to April 1, 2006 hit top pay after three years. Based on the proposed contract, the starting salary for new supervisors would be $73,000 effective July 1, 2008, up from the current $61,093. The enhanced schedule reflects the administration's efforts to rebuild the salary structure for newly promoted Sergeants who had their pay stretched under the last agreement. Makes Job Worth It "We think this is a structure and a level that will encourage Police Officers to take on the added responsibility, do the added work to study and pass the test," Mayor Bloomberg said. Under the tentative agreement, Sergeants promoted prior to April 1, 2006 would be making at least $87,946 as of Sept. 1, 2010. By contrast, more-recently promoted Sergeants would be at $78,957 on that date. The pay for them would rise by roughly $540 at the end of each of the first two years and then by $1,288 at the conclusion of the third year. The largest increase would occur in the last step on the pay scale, which includes a $13,636 raise at the end of the fourth year to bring those newer Sergeants to the same maximum pay as their veteran counterparts. The lengthy deal, Mayor Bloomberg said, provides the city "stability and knowledge of the future," which will help solidify budget projections. The contract sets the parameters for the uniformed pattern for 2009 and 2010, he added. The proposed agreement also doubles the number of budgeted special assignment supervisors from approximately 5 percent of Sergeants to 10 percent of the membership. Based on the deal, the top pay for Special Assignment Sergeants, such as Supervisors of Detective Squads, would be $109,002. That figure would increase to $117,832 by Sept. 1, 2010 after longevity and other benefits were included. Two Increases The total cost of the deal is approximately $200 million, which has mainly already been budgeted, said Labor Commissioner James F. Hanley. The accord also includes two increases of 1.59 percent, one effective in July 1, 2008, the second 26 months later, in the form of enhanced longevity pay, uniform differential and other benefits, he said. Mr. Mullins agreed with the Mayor that the increased starting pay and maximum salary would spur more Police Officers to seek the promotion. Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly has blamed the previous 6.5-percent passing rate on the current contract, which reduced the starting salary to $61,093 for new Sergeants. That pay is only $1,505 more than the $59,588 Police Officers earn after 5-1/2 years of service. The overall number of officers who apply for and pass the Sergeants' test has steadily dropped in recent years. Only 13 percent of the 4,934 officers who took the 2006 Sergeant exam passed it. That figure was down from the 1,729 out of the 7,196 participants, or 24 percent, who passed the 2003 exam. Drop in Interest "We have not had as many Police Officers wanting to study and take the Sergeants' test," Mayor Bloomberg said. "The Sergeants are the first-line managers in the NYPD. They are the ones who have to make the difficult decisions, and many times there is no right answer." The raises included in the new proposed contract makes the position "a lot more attractive," he added. "We have to have the best people in the country working here." The tentative agreement also calls for the establishment of a labor-management committee to study the needs of first-responders, including equipping them with powered-air gas masks, the SBA said. Mr. Mullins also bargained a reopener clause that covers the last round of contract negations and the current one, which is pegged to the PBA's unresolved talks. If any uniformed union were to negotiate a deal with the city that gave its members raises higher than the 3 and 3.15 percent Mr. Mullins bargained in the last round, or got the same raises but with fewer givebacks, the SBA could immediately reopen negotiations for those years. The same holds true for any uniformed agreements reached in the new round. Leader Confident The SBA president said he's confident the deal will be ratified by his members, noting that the union's delegate body overwhelmingly voted in favor of the agreement, 132 to 15.
After the press conference, Mr. Mullins said that he
wasn't going to sell the contract to his members. "I'm going to tell them what
the deal is and let them decide for themselves," he remarked. "I think the deal
will stand on its own merits. When they look at the facts, they will draw their
own conclusions." | |||||
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