Environmental Police Pursue Uniformed Union Pay Status
By TOMMY HALLISSEY
The Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association, which represents the city's Environmental Protection Police, has rejected an offer from the Bloomberg administration of smaller wage increases than have been granted to uniformed unions.

KENNETH WYNDER: 'We're police officers, too.'

The city proposed raises of 3 percent a year for three years, the union said. Starting salary is $25,000, while top pay remains at $44,000.

LEEBA delegate Steve Whittick said the city was inflexible. '''Either you take what we offered or you're not getting anything,''' was how he characterized the city's negotiating stance.

The 160-member union is also concerned about the lack of line-of-duty pay. "If we get shot on the job, we get five days off," Mr. Whittick said.

'We're Cops Just Like NYPD'

Union President Kenneth Wynder said they should be treated like the police officers they are. "The city claims it is not in their code" to provide increases on par with NYPD cops, he said. "But you know just because it is not in the Administrative Code doesn't mean we shouldn't get paid."

City Councilman Peter F. Vallone Jr. of Queens sponsored a bill in November 2007 that would have granted uniformed-union bargaining status to DEP Police. It has sat in Councilman Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.'s Committee on Civil Service and Labor since the day it was introduced, according to City Council records. "The bill has never come to the floor for a vote," said Mr. Whittick.

In November 2006, the Public Employment Relations Board dismissed a LEEBA improper-practice charge against the city because the union had submitted no evidence that it represented officers or members of any police force or department. "It doesn't matter if you are policing a five-mile area or a hundred-mile area, you're still a police officer," Mr. Wynder said. DEP Police cover not just New York City but also portions of upstate areas that are near the city's water supply. "All we are looking for is parity with the NYPD. All this group is looking for is a level playing field."

Hopes to Match PBA

He said he would be happy with a contract akin to the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association's arbitration award in May that granted 4.5- and 5-percent increases, although part of the cost to the city was offset by givebacks, primarily at the expense of future cops. Last month, the PBA negotiated a new contract, which runs from mid-2006 to 2010, that if ratified would grant 4-percent raises in each of four years of the contract.

LEEBA concedes that the qualifications to become a police officer differ from the NYPD, which requires 30 more college credits than for Environmental Police Officers. Mr. Whittick contended, however, that his members go through the same background checks as other uniformed officers.

"I think because we are a specialized police department we should be compared to other specialized police departments, i.e. the Port Authority and the MTA," he said. "Because we are out of sight and out of mind, nobody cares."