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May 28, 2004
Mediator Named To Break Ice In PBA Talks
Lynch Looking For Deal Well Above DC 37 Terms
By Mark Daly
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association has secured a state-appointed
mediator to try to rejuvenate its stalled contract talks with the city.
The Public Employment Relations Board notified both sides May 14 that it had
concluded their negotiations were at an impasse. The Union had petitioned the
board in March to make the finding.
Next Step Arbitration
If the mediator appointed by PERB fails to move the two parties toward an agreement,
the dispute will be reviewed by a three-member panel. The panel can issue a binding
award.
Through a spokesman, PBA President Patrick J. Lynch blamed the impasse on the
city’s hardball negotiating tactics.
“The city didn’t offer a dime’s worth of raise that wasn’t
tied to a quarter’s worth of givebacks during the so-called negotiating
sessions,” he said.
“We stand willing to continue negotiations,” replied a spokesman
for Mayor Bloomberg. “However, we will work with a mediator to reach a settlement.”
The PBA has been fighting Mr. Bloomberg’s insistence that any raises
in the city’s new contracts be funded by productivity measures. The union
is seeking a raise well above the city bargaining pattern to bring its members’
salaries closer to those of cops in Long Island and Port Authority.
The starting salary at the NYPD is $36,878, and cops earn $57,793 after six
years on the job, according to the PBA. The Port Authority’s veteran cops
will earn nearly $78,000 this year under a recently approved contract, and police
in Nassau County will see a maximum salary of $92,400 by 2006.
If mediation fails, the PBA will enter arbitration for its third contract in
a row. Mr. Lynch said the process was “time consuming and costly for both
sides” but described it as “the only chance New York City’s
Police Officers have to win a fair contract. We want and deserve a fair day’s
pay for a dangerous day’s work.
PERB’s mediator, Alan R. Viani, handled the PBA’s previous mediation
sessions. He has 40 years of experience in collective bargaining, having previously
served as deputy chairman for dispute settlements at the Office of Collective
Bargaining, director of research and negotiations for District Council 37, and
president of its Local 371.
No Deadline
While his mission is to cajole both sides into resuming talks, Mr. Viani can’t
unilaterally declare the process hopeless and send the matter to arbitration,
explained Richard A. Curreri, PERB’s Director of Conciliation.
If either side seeks to end mediation by filing a petition for arbitration,
PERB will check with Mr. Viani to confirm the impasse before allowing the parties
to choose a tripartite panel.
Mr. Viani, the PBA and the city aren’t under any deadline to attempt
to reach a settlement. “There really are no hard-and-fast rules here,”
Mr. Curreri said. “It’s a matter of what seems likely to move negotiations
forward or achieve a resolution.”
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