PBA Breakthrough Not Embraced by Cops; Key Givebacks Cited; Raises Top 'Pattern' But Rescheduling Changes, Vacation Loss Rankle

PBA Breakthrough Not Embraced by Cops; Key Givebacks Cited; Raises Top 'Pattern' But Rescheduling Changes, Vacation Loss Rankle


While Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick J. Lynch hailed last week's contract arbitration award as "historic" for giving his members raises exceeding those previously negotiated for Firefighters, rank-and-file cops were considerably less enthusiastic about the terms.

HARRY NESPOLI: Won't make his 'unborn' suffer.

In granting pay hikes of 4.5 and 5 percent over a two-year period from Aug. 1, 2004 through July 31, 2006, arbitration panel chairwoman Susan T. Mackenzie significantly exceeded the increases of 3 and 3.15 percent that were accepted for a comparable period by other uniformed unions. But the 3.5 percent in additional pay boosts for Police Officers above what their uniformed colleagues received was offset to a large degree by givebacks that were part of the award.

Incumbents Share 'Unborn' Pain

The most significant of those requires new officers beginning with the class that will enter the Police Academy in July to give up 10 vacation days - meaning they will receive just 10 per year - during their first five years of service. The value of this concession is more than twice as great as what will be gained by those new officers because of improvements in the salary schedule that include a raise in starting salary from $25,100 to $35,881.

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS: A day after an arbitration panel awarded Patrolmen's Benevolent Association members raises of 4.5 and 5 percent, the focus inside and outside precincts like this one was as much on the givebacks in areas like vacation rights and rescheduling as on the pay gains.

And unlike a 2005 arbitration award, where all the pain was inflicted on "the unborn" - cops who have not yet been hired - this pact takes away some rights from incumbent Police Officers. They can now have their tours rescheduled without additional compensation for 20 days each year, compared to 15 under the prior contract. The deal also gives the NYPD the latitude to reschedule them on six "special event" days - usually involving parade duty - with just 24 hours' notice, where previously they had to be told a week in advance.

And Police Officers, who previously were given a day off to re-qualify at the NYPD firearms range each year, now must use a vacation day for that purpose.

Grumbling in the Ranks

The impact those changes will have on cops' schedules accounted in large part for the grumbling in the ranks and a reluctance to say much about a contract that others viewed as a breakthrough for the PBA because its wage terms disregarded the longtime parity between salaries for cops and Firefighters.

"We don't really want to talk about it," said one officer outside a Manhattan stationhouse. "All I'll say is that we're not happy."

A fellow officer was more specific: "We should have gotten 5s across the board - no givebacks - and bumps in annuity."

A third officer specifically focused on the scheduling concessions and the lost vacation day. "This makes it really hard to plan vacations with my family and gives me less time with my kids."

Mr. Lynch said in a statement that he was pleased that the wage hikes exceeded the uniformed union pattern that the Bloomberg administration insisted on during both negotiations and the arbitration. (The union's decision not to formally sign the award indicated, however, it was disappointed by the givebacks included.)

'A Strong Message to City'

"This decision sends a strong message to the City of New York that times have changed and old, outdated and ineffective traditions of pattern bargaining and lock-step parity no longer satisfy the modern needs of this city," he said. "It confirms ... that pay should be based upon the responsibilities employees have, the hazards and dangers they face, the skills and education required for the job, and not antiquated pay relationships of a bygone era."

No other municipal union had to accept givebacks for this contract period, however. When the PBA concessions are factored into the increase, the net gain drops to 7.41 percent, according to the Bloomberg administration, or just 1.16 percent more than the value of the other uniformed union contracts for that period.

A PBA official sought to distance the union from the less-appealing parts of the award, saying May 21, "These are not givebacks; we did not agree to give anything back. The arbitrator decided to take them from us, and the city urged them to."

'Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish'

The starting salary was increased to make the city more competitive with other departments, and boost the NYPD's low recruitment numbers, but the vacation cuts will have the opposite effect. "It's penny-wise and pound foolish to raise the salary and then take half the vacation away," the PBA official said, since the cut in vacation time could dissuade recruits. "It offsets any gains."

One officer tried to put a positive spin on the results, but his praise was tepid, at best. "The only good thing about it is that it's more than what the city was offering," said this eight-year veteran, who like the others spoke conditioned on anonymity. "I don't think anyone expected to get anywhere near what Nassau and Suffolk [counties] get, but at least this puts us in the ballpark." In Suffolk County, an officer's starting salary is $57,800 and goes to $97,950 after five years.

Others had more negative reactions. "It's horrible," said a 17-year veteran. "We got nothing and we still don't have a [current] contract. It served no purpose. Everyone else has contracts through 2011. We're still at 2006."

Mr. Lynch is hopeful, however, that exceeding the pattern in arbitration will force the city to be more reasonable at the bargaining table.

'Sown Seeds for Bargaining'

"By issuing this historic award, this panel hopefully has sown the seeds that will compel the city to bargain in good faith with PBA in the future," he said. "We will immediately initiate the process that we hope will result in a fair and reasonable police officers' contract for the 2006/2008 contract period."

Because of the ruling, the PBA won't be the only union at the bargaining table. The other uniformed unions all had clauses in their contracts entitling them to reopen negotiations if the PBA award's value exceeded the terms they agreed to. But at least one uniformed union leader argued that the concessions under the PBA deal were too steep a price to pay for the extra raises. In a May 20 statement, Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association President Harry Nespoli said he would seek a better deal for his members, which by his standard means no givebacks. "I am not willing to surrender anything for new hires, as the arbitrator ruled with regard to new police officers, or give up an annual leave day for sanitation workers already on the job, as the arbitrator did with the police for Range Day," he said in a statement. "But I do want to keep our options open. Maybe we can sit down and negotiate a different angle."

Detectives' Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino said he was analyzing the PBA award to determine whether it was worth invoking his reopener clause.

"I'm happy that the arbitrators increased the salary rates because it gives us an opportunity to reopen, but it's disheartening that the arbitrators are unwilling to give raises without concessions," he said in a May 21 interview.

"It appears that there is more money, but at what cost?" asked Sergeants Benevolent Association President Edward Mullins in a phone interview that day. He said that union lawyers and actuaries were reviewing the ruling and had not yet decided whether to activate their reopener clause. "In a nutshell, it's a wage increase in exchange for time," he continued. "We have to ask if that is something we want to do."

The union representing Correction Officers has already begun the process. In a statement issued a day after the PERB announcement, President Norman Seabrook said, "On behalf of the New York City Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, I have today sent Labor Commissioner James Hanley a letter indicating our desire to schedule a meeting between his office and our union, to explore reopening contract negations with the City of New York."