2 Facing Challenges
DEA Head Palladino May Be Unopposed

By REUVEN BLAU

Detectives Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino and the majority of his slate are likely to be unopposed for new four-year terms.

MICHAEL J. PALLADINO: Last pact helped standing.

Mr. Palladino, who took the helm of the DEA in 2004 after former President Thomas J. Scotto retired, has spent much of the past six weeks attending the Sean Bell trial, where three of his members are being charged in the fatal Nov. 25, 2006 Queens shooting.

Overcame Pact Rebuff

But he has also been collecting member signatures for his nominating petition, which are required under the DEA bylaws. Mr. Palladino's slate's petitions will be submitted by the April 15 deadline, he said. The petitions then must be certified by the DEA's election committee.

After a bumpy start as union president, Mr. Palladino now appears to have broad membership support. In December 2005, the DEA's members narrowly rejected the union's proposed 48-month wage contract with the Bloomberg administration that would have required most Detectives to work longer tours to help finance 17-percent raises.

That deal was later amended and ratified, and the members resoundingly supported a subsequent contract negotiated by the DEA in October 2007. That four-year agreement will provide them with raises of nearly 17 percent, add 240 officers to the upper grades, reduce the time it takes to reach maximum pay by one year, and offer a $4,515 one-time annuity fund increase and $2,500 in longevity hikes.

The 2,619-254 tally in favor of the deal - 91 percent - marked the first time in decades that the DEA negotiated a new agreement on time, Mr. Palladino said.

Pays for Body Scans

The DEA has placed a priority on helping ailing members who worked at Ground Zero. In the summer of 2006, the DEA began to offer a complete body scan that includes a unique heart test designed to detect potential health ailments.

Over 2,000 Detectives have been screened with the Electron-Beam CAT Scan, with many displaying previously undetected artery ailments, according to Inner Imaging officials.

Mr. Palladino also persuaded the NYPD to promote more Detectives to higher grades to help retain veteran investigators. In 2006, the NYPD announced plans to promote 200 additional Detectives to Second Grade and 100 more to First Grade to bolster those thinning ranks.

As for the union election, no one has announced plans to challenge Mr. Palladino, but two of the officers on his slate are being opposed.

Ken Sparks, the assistant to the president, is running for secretary against incumbent Richard T. Tirelli, who has been at odds with Mr. Palladino.

Ally Turns Dissident

Mr. Tirelli said he is independently seeking re-election, and urged members to vote for him based on his prior union experience. He declined to discuss the ongoing dispute he has had with Mr. Palladino. "I'm not bad-mouthing Mike," he remarked during a phone interview. "I'm going to run on my reputation as a hard-working board officer, as I have been since 1996."

But he added, "When I get re-elected, we will have to iron out our differences."

Mr. Palladino indicated the union was looking to move on. "The last four years, the DEA has become a well-oiled machine," he said during an April 2 phone interview. "If you want to help run the union, I welcome you with open arms, but if you don't want to help, then just step aside and let the train go down the track."

The union president argued that Mr. Sparks, who if elected would be the first African-American to serve as secretary, has played a key role helping injured Detectives. Mr. Sparks serves as the union's rep on the Police Pension Fund Disability Board and has worked as union delegate since 1995.

"I'm extremely proud of what I've accomplished here," Mr. Sparks said, noting that he has known and worked with Mr. Palladino for the past 17 years.

The other competitive race involves incumbent Sergeant-at-Arms Cecil Martinez, who is being challenged by Scott Monroe, a delegate in the Queens Auto Crime Division.

Mr. Martinez noted that he has earned an advanced certificate in labor studies from Cornell University and is also a graduate of the Harvard trade union program. "I think the education piece is very important here," he said during a phone interview. "There are so many subcommittees that I sit on. I've also done well over 500 disciplinary hearings."