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.