Contract Update - 10/05/2006

I know many of you are quite anxious for news since the contract expired on Oct 1
And I know it seems or is perceived that there is a lack of information out there.....so in order to keep everyone updated...here it is
Since our meeting on Sept 25th, the city has yet to respond to our last offer.
The city has told us that they need to check on some numbers with their actuary
According to them, their actuary is not ready with them yet, a full 2 1/2 weeks later. Even though we personally called him and he said it the #s were available.
Last night, I attended the council meeting and spoke on your behalf. I questioned the delay and expressed your dissatisfaction that our contract is not done. I also told them that since Oct 1st, they...the mayor and council and every other city employee got their raises while we got nothing. The mayor responded by saying she too wants this completed and hopes...benig the key word...hopes.... to schedule a meeting with us next week after she meets for a 4th time in a closed door mtg with her and the council
So you might ask, where does this leave us.....I tell you.....
This weekend, the Labor, Executive and Public Relations boards will be meeting to formulate an exact PUBLIC plan of action and timeline
Your Labor Board refuses to go any lower in our negotiations....we have already comprimised enough!!!
Please plan on attending the Oct 12th FOP Mtg. We will have a FULL Labor Mtg to discuss ALL facets of the negotiations, offers and what is to come

Good cause Im tired of their B.S. lets get some signs, grow a pair, and go out to their beloved golf course on the weekends and their horsey playground and make a scene there too. Miami PD is doing it, theyre fed up and SO SHOULD WE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think their tactic is that we all lose some steam and, well let it go attitude. I got your answer Mike, its going to be a big "NO" when they hand back are counter.

Your Labor Board refuses to go any lower in our negotiations....we have already comprimised enough!!!
You may have compromised too much already...

Joe, to you and the rest of the labor board, I applaud your persistance and hard work. However, personally I feel we have stooped down for the city once again. I assume some things just can't be changed with them, so you guys go for the "best" you can. So I do not fault our labor board.

But it is very discouraging with what is on the table now in the sense we will once again be in last place before this contract expires (please correct me if I am misinformed). Why do our employees want to settle for something that will put us in last place again?

I suggest at the October 12th meeting that you guys prepare a fact sheet, if appropriate for all the members to obtain. Information on what we are currently proposing to the city, which I've heard is 17% over three years (7/5/5), 1.5% cola, keeping our supplement benefits, etc. But I have heard that the 8th hour of vacation time is definitely a no go now.

Also, exactly what will be planned for our PR campaign if appropriate.

Our city showed what they thought of their police officers & families in offering their first proposal. A joke. Substandard by far. They are showing what they think of us now, by voting themselves a raise while we still don't have a contract. Showing what they think of us by telling us that they "don't" have the numbers, when the actuary says they do.

They (city) have really made it clear what they think of us. And it is sad. I really applaud the guys on the street, DB, traffic, etc. The morale is getting low because of the way the city treats us, yet they are still working hard out there.

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF YOUR CITY
POLICEPAY.NET has been analyzing city budgets and audits since 1987. Most cities claim to be broke every year. Seldom is this the truth. Once we have gone through the finances of your city, you know unequivocally what they can and cannot afford. If you do not address this issue before negotiations begin, you will probably find yourself receiving the "poverty sermon" from the finance director, complete with the full-color PowerPoint presentation that predicts financial ruin for your city. It is very difficult to combat someone at his own game and this is the finance director's game, being played in his ballpark, with his personal umpires, scorekeeper and grounds crew. If you do not deal with this, your negotiations are most likely doomed. We recommend this service 3-6 months prior to the onset of negotiations, so call now to get started.

If you are already at impasse, and are heading for arbitration, you need this service as quickly as possible. The PowerPoint mentioned above will undoubtedly make an encore performance at the arbitration hearing. You had better be prepared to "take-it-out". We are the ones with the knowledge and experience to do just that.

Contact Matt Barnard
(405) 234-2235
matt@policepay.net

I think our current proposal leaves us at the bottom three years from now. Why are we doing this just to aim at the bottom? I think the labor committee is asking for way too little.

Possible Solution To Recruitment CZrisis:
by Karl Bickel, American Police Beat


From coast to coast, it is estimated that 80 percent of the nation’s 17,000 state and local law enforcement agencies have vacancies they cannot fill.

The Los Angeles Police Department has more than 700 vacancies and in March, New York City announced plans to hire 800 more officers.

Departments are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit qualified men and women to satisfy what has become a critical need. Competition among departments is growing fierce as they battle for recruits in a shrinking applicant pool. Smaller agencies have a difficult time retaining experienced officers, who are lured away by better pay and benefits offered by larger departments. There are simply not enough qualified men and women interested in a career in law enforcement to fill the need.

Some departments are considering relaxing requirements for college credits and modifying prohibitions on applicants with a history of arrest or drug use in an effort to expand the pool of potential hires. This is not the answer, but a mistake we have seen come back to haunt communities.

Full article: http://www.apbweb.com/cops-speak.htm

Let's protest at HER house! you know the one who, just kind of took more land on HER property after Wilma, that wasn't HERS!!! HMMmm?
well Im fed up! lets just say that a few of the c.members will never get professional help from me! hope they dont drink and drive!!!! keep looking over your back, I'll put the bracelets on anyone of them!

The city has scheduled our next "negotiation" meeting for Tuesday, October 10th at 10 am

Yeah we know joe, but its going to be a big fat NO! how much lower are we willing to go before we go to the next level? if we dont stand now its never going to happen, there's no sense in avoiding a confontation with the city, we are not getting what we need and they dont care about losing police officers. There are people applicants signing on to the city and they will work for the lowest, which is us. all they care about is getting there certificates to be an officer. Did you guys care how much you were making in the beggining of your career? Dont think so! all you cared about was getting in with a city...... But I guess we're going to settle and we have lost steam to do what we set out to do.... Im sick and tired of hearing that they are crunching numbers... They dont need to cause there's not to crunch. Its already fix and they're not budging.
To the labor board, I thank you for trying your best, but we are and always will be the lowest in the county. If we give up and sign a sub-standard contract we are all guilty of giving up.

To set it straight....

The Labor Board will NOT...repeat...NOT accept a sub standard offer
We will not accept anything lower than what our last proposal was to them
If they even try to give us a proposal lower than what we asked for or if they try their "last and final" offer b/s...then we will not accept the offer!!!!!
Our counter proposal will be higher than our last one due to Pembroke Pines, CSPD and Lauderhill signing great contracts
We will then start our media/public campaign
Trust me, we just finished our public relations meeting about our plan of action and I can assure, the city will not like what we have planned
A full and complete report about their propsals and what our plan of action is going to be will be given at Thursdays FOP mtg.

Oh yes, now we are going to increase our demands? Then why did we make our last offer? Again why are we bargaining to be at the bottom again?

I know, I have been here before. The city will make a last offer and you guys will come to us and say we better take it because it's the best we can do. Mike has done that over and over.

The Labor Board will NOT...repeat...NOT accept a sub standard offer

When Palm Beach is getting 33% in three years and topping out at 86K a year, we are asking for middle ground! If the mayor wants us to be held to the level of Coral Springs and Boca Raton then she needs to treat us as such! Notice that in one year’s time Coral Springs has made the top 25 safest cities in America, and number one for emergency preparedness. Where was Plantation?

Personally I support every hard working member of our labor board, they have truly fought tooth and nail but we can not allow the city to out distance us! This fight has only just begun... Personally I hope the city rejects our last proposal, this way I won't have to vote against it a week later.

WELCOME TO PLANTATION.ORG
A message to the citizens of the City of Plantation:
MAYOR RAE CAROLE ARMSTRONG-


In Plantation, money may not grow on trees, but it does grow among them!

Oh yes, now we are going to increase our demands? Then why did we make our last offer? Again why are we bargaining to be at the bottom again?

I know, I have been here before. The city will make a last offer and you guys will come to us and say we better take it because it's the best we can do. Mike has done that over and over.

Like I said before........Mike, Darren, Rob, Greg and I wont even bring a substandard offer back to you guys.....We owe you that much....All of us take our role extremely seriously
We will flat out refuse it and push it back across the table
That is the difference with this very much committed Labor Board
We are not going to stand for it anymore. We wont be bullied or intimidated by the city
You ask "then why did we make our last offer?" The answer is that we had too....its all part of negotiating. As long as both sides are talking, I think we can get this done. Is it going to make everyone happy....no
This contracts negotiations are different.....the Mayor and council are fractured......the city is getting hit after hit with bad press...you the membership are committed.....
Last time, the city gave us 2 proposals and ended negotiations
This time, weve had umpteen mettings with the council, 4 negotiating sessions, attended 5 council mtgs to name
Whomever this is.....your entitled to your opinion
PLEASE attend Thursdays mtg so youll be informed
My door has been open to everyone. If you dont want to publicly talk about this, ring me up and Ill be more than happy to explain everything to you and our methodology in our negotiating tactics
I think everyone knows me enough by now to know I dont take b/s from city hall
I applaud evreyone of you for your posts.....keep it up....is healthy and lets you vent
Ive learned a thing or 2 from reading them.....
I know everyone is pissed off right now....so am I....I didnt get a cost of living raise too....keep faith in us.....Im not asking you to trust city hall....cause I wouldnt either

To set it straight....

The Labor Board will NOT...repeat...NOT accept a sub standard offer

I am afraid that our current offer IS substandard, but in fairness to you guys and the hard work you are doing, I will wait until Thursday to get all the facts.



We will not accept anything lower than what our last proposal was to them

WHY WHY WHY have we already stooped down to 17%? Why did we start with 21% knowing that would only put us average and understanding negotiations, KNOWING that would have to come down during talks? Why not have shot for 28% initially?

I know, it's negotiations and they were talking at the time. However, that keeps us in last before the end of the contract. Then what? Next contract will be better?


Our counter proposal will be higher than our last one due to Pembroke Pines, CSPD and Lauderhill signing great contracts

WHY are we not tabling our last proposal and not walking into the October 10th meeting with a "based on new contracts signed by cities you've selected, we have revised our proposal. Go crunch these numbers." ????

Joe, I am sure you are aware as is most here, that the city officials get word of what goes on here. Just as we do on their side. That is part of negotiating.

I actually believe the city might come back with a "yes" to our current proposal to avoid any discredit through PR campaigns. And then what? We've settled for a contract that might be "ok" but will end up in LAST again before the term of the contract.


We will then start our media/public campaign

I may be wrong, but I doubt we will get that far. Yet Miami took their first rejection and went out in full force. As a person proud to work in the city over the years, I am quite frankly, embarassed. But I can't leave either and the city that doesn't care if people leave, doesn't care if they stay and are unhappy.


Trust me, we just finished our public relations meeting about our plan of action and I can assure, the city will not like what we have planned
A full and complete report about their propsals and what our plan of action is going to be will be given at Thursdays FOP mtg.

I have no doubt the PR committee has come up with some excellent ideas, but IF the city gives us a nod on our last proposal, which will put us in last before it ends, then we are stuck.

Joe, please remind the membership that IF the city accepts the last proposal, the membership still has the right to vote it down. You guys are working hard, but IF the city accepts this last proposal, please explain in detail to all of us, WHY we lowered ourselves again. Perhaps something more than "it's all a part of negotiating." In that case, why did we start off low.

Once again, you guys on the board are doing a hard and a thankless job. I would not want it and I certainly cannot speak from being in your shoes. Hopefully October 12th will clear up any mis-information.

My anger is not directed to the labor board. It will ultimately come down to the membership and if they vote in what "some" may call another substandard contract, then hopefully they will not complain later if we are in last again.

By the way, inflation is still above what we asked for. Cost of living is above what we asked for. And so are all the other agencies, including some which got tremendous contracts.

Kind of reminds me what was barely legible on the board in the PD. By the second day, it was scrubbed off. Wish the floors would be cleaned that well.....

"Working for Lauderhill:
$69k in 7 years
3% COLA
Full medical for officers at retirement

Working for Plantation:
Priceless"

Disclaimer, that was what was on the board. I don't know if it was factual or not, but it really rings a bell.

yep, if I was the city I would just accept our last proposal as it is, it would get them out cheaply, make them look like the good guy and leave us in last place for 3 more years.

Sold out by our own again. Thanks Mike.

yep, if I was the city I would just accept our last proposal as it is, it would get them out cheaply, make them look like the good guy and leave us in last place for 3 more years.

Sold out by our own again. Thanks Mike.

Don't get me wrong or confuse my thoughts with yours. I do not blame Mike or the rest of our board. That is because I am not sitting there with them. I'd say if you don't like how things are handled. Join the board or run for FOP president. I won't. But then again, I am not bashing them.

It's really easy to blame someone for failure, but I think what is more important is that we simply stand and get what we deserve. If we deserve last place, then shame on all of us for voting to accept it. If we deserve to be top, then go for the top. Personally, I am comfortable with being in the average, HOWEVER remaining there consitently, not falling right back into last place.

yep, if I was the city I would just accept our last proposal as it is, it would get them out cheaply, make them look like the good guy and leave us in last place for 3 more years.

Sold out by our own again. Thanks Mike.

Once again....our own bashing our own
Dont blame the board, blame the city!!!!

Look lets not give in now! Lets set out what we were planning to do, cause I can assure you we'll be doing this again three years. And thats to all you somewhat new people with five an under. If we dont express are major concerns about a horrible subcontract, even if they say ok to the one we are asking for, you guys and me will be here again b*&tching about how they put it in are you know what where the sun never shines.
I would respect her more if she just HONESTLY came out and told us why SHE feels we dont deserve a fair contract. And for the one who might be running for her office, all I can say is "I LORD HELP US" if she gets in!
She just as; I think she used this word "FRUGAL" as her old man.
But really if she would just say, I think you people are not worth paying what you are worth, my level of hate would rise but so would my respect.
So to the fathers on the other side on your golden wall, just tell us why, the truth for a change.
plain and simple we're tired of your crumbs you tickle down to us. you bring us down and we should take you with us in a media "showdown"
Everyday I tell people not to live in good ole Plantation cause the people who hold the purse strings are flat out liars!!!!!!
And they could care less about protecting their citizens, cause we are dead last in every area of benifit.
:evil:

Could someone please confirm some of the items these other cities received. Laudehille, Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines. I know it may only piss me off, but I feel being informed is important. Thanks in advance.