Jail Captains Boost Top Pay 3.5% in Re-Opener; UFOA Begins Vote on Deal

The Correction Captains Association July 11 became the fourth uniformed union to take advantage of a re-opener clause in its contract to raise maximum salary by 3.5 percent.

RONALD WHITFIELD: Decides price is right.

That increase allows the CCA to match the pay hikes won in arbitration two months ago by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association for a corresponding period. Because it opted to apply the increase only to the top step on its pay scale, the union did not have to make as many givebacks as the PBA was required to offset the cost of having its raises go to all cops and all steps on the salary scale.

Not Same As LBA Terms

In boosting only top pay and having it take effect early in the 14th month of its old contract, the CCA followed the lead of the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, which was the first union to make the re-opener deal. In other respects, however, the CCA parted company with the LBA in providing the savings demanded by the Bloomberg administration.

The Lieutenants' union had agreed to have its members rescheduled at no overtime cost to the Police Department for an additional five days per year. That concession will not be made by the Captains in the jail system, who instead opted to give up or scale down increases in two benefit funds.

JOHN J. McDONNELL: Delegates liked his deal.

CCA President Ronald Whitfield said in a July 14 phone interview that he agreed to forego a $1,000 per-member increase in city annuity fund contributions that was due to take effect on Dec. 16, 2009, and have members' annuity funds decreased by $264 effective this Sept. 1. He also agreed to scale back a scheduled increase in city longevity fund contributions due Dec. 16, 2009 from $145 to $71.

In return for those concessions, Mr. Whitfield noted, the Bloomberg administration not only granted the 3.5-percent boost in maximum salary, it moved up most of a scheduled increase in a salary step for new Captains that would provide them with more cash because of the earlier payment dates. That $1,500 increase had been due to take effect next Jan. 19; under this deal, the first $750 of that pay step will be retroactive to June 1, 2006, and another $500 of it will be retroactive to last year.

'Satisfied' With Terms

"I'm satisfied with it," Mr. Whitfield said of the terms.

A smaller annuity-fund giveback was a key element of the deal reached by the Uniformed Fire Officers Association. That union's president, John J. McDonnell, who initially offered limited details about his agreement until he had a chance to brief his rank and file, fleshed out its terms after meeting July 10 with both members and the union's delegates, who voted overwhelmingly to send the terms out for a final vote. Ballots will be counted July 28.

Where the PBA was forced to make concessions totaling 2.82 percent - most of them affecting future hires - the UFOA had to give back the equivalent of .47 percent. Besides the fact that its increase is applied only to the top of the pay scale, Mr. McDonnell noted that it will be retroactive only to the last day of his previous contract, March 19, 2007, where the PBA raises took effect on the first day of its pact and the first day of the deal's second year.

Lose a Day Off

Like the PBA, he gave up a day off - in his members' case, Election Day, which had been one of their 11 paid holidays. That provided .31 percent of the savings, Mr. McDonnell said. The remaining .16 percent will stem from the union's forsaking of $298 in per-member annuity fund contributions by the city. UFOA members will not receive the $261 annuity fund increase that would have taken effect July 1, and at some point the Bloomberg administration will deduct an additional $37 from members' funds, Mr. McDonnell said.

"Prior to going in and talking to [Labor Relations Commissioner James F. Hanley], we had some trepidation," he remarked, "because we were concerned [a deal] might have to mirror some of the concessions that the PBA had to make. We'd done that once before [after the PBA's 2005 arbitration award] and we didn't want to have to do it again."

He continued, "While it's not painless, by giving up .47 we obtained a value of 3.49. While everyone does not share in it immediately, they will when they reach their top-grade anniversary."

All those who qualified for maximum salary as of March 19, 2007 will receive retroactive payments ranging from $3,723 for Lieutenants to $6,169 for Deputy Chiefs. Those who subsequently reached the three-year service anniversary that entitles them to top pay will receive smaller retroactive checks.

The new salary maximums as of that date - provided the UFOA membership gives final approval - will be $83,833 for Lieutenants, $96,229 for Captains, $108,985 for Medical Officers, $91,680 for those in the title of Supervising Fire Marshal I, $120,927 for those in Supervising Fire Marshal II, $125,300 for Battalion Chiefs and $138,882 for Deputy Chiefs.

The added money will also factor into higher salaries that resulted from the current UFOA contract, which provides 4-percent raises on both March 20, 2009 and that date in 2010. When that second raise takes effect, the new maximum pay for Lieutenants will have risen to $98,072, Captains will get $112,574, and Medical Officers $127,497. Supervising Fire Marshals depending on their level will receive $107,252 or $141,468, Battalion Chiefs will peak at $146,583, and Deputy Chiefs will rise to $162,472.