To All Delegates and Members

 

January 7, 2005

CONTRACT

This is the fifth in a series of Newsletters designed to keep you informed on collective bargaining issues affecting the union in this round. In the newsletter, we describe in summary fashion events that have taken place in the arbitration proceeding before the PERB panel.

As of the writing of this Newsletter, we are about three quarters of the way through the arbitration. The arbitration has become considerably protracted because of the full cross-examination of the witnesses allowed by this PERB panel. On balance, we believe that full cross-examination, while adding expenses and time to the process, allows us to highlight the truth to the arbitration panel. In past arbitrations, City witnesses have been allowed to appear before arbitration panels and say whatever they wanted on critical issues, without ever being held to account. Observers agree that our cross-examination of City witnesses has been very effective, serving to undermine key testimony.

Also in this round, we are forcefully pressing the City to produce key documents that support many of their claims. Panels in the past would not compel the production of these documents, which we believed prejudiced the PBA's cases in those proceedings. For example, not surprisingly, the City is again professing to be broke and unable to afford a fair raise. They showed budget documents that reflected billions of dollars in projected deficits. We are pushing for all documents that underlie the budget documents on the belief that they will show, among other things, that the City understands that the deficits are exaggerated, with revenues underbudgeted and expenses overestimated.

By all accounts, we are presenting a very persuasive case and are effectively calling into question the City's evidence. But we know from our last round and the labor history in this City that we do not always get what we deserve or what the evidence suggests. That is why I immediately took a strong public stand in the print and television media when Mayor Bloomberg attempted to improperly influence the panel by asserting that he would lay off police officers if the arbitrator awarded us "above the pattern" without work rule changes. What the mayor was alluding to was ten extra tours the City sought in the last arbitration. I publicly stated that "the mayor is trying to use scare tactics to improperly influence the arbitration panel. All we want is a fair hearing before the panel and fair compensation for police officers to fix both their salary problem and the City's recruitment and retention problem." I more fully articulated our position in the television medium.

When the ten extra tours were pulled out of the arbitrator's hat in the last round in a draft decision, we immediately took our appeal public on the streets around Times Square. Given the state of our wages versus other police departments, and the fact that we have a tremendously difficult job that we have performed superbly over at least the past decade, there is absolutely no justification for ten extra tours. The Mayor's continued preoccupation with having police officers work these extra tours shows how out of touch he is with the demands of a police officer and that he is attempting to punish police officers for seeking a fair wage, notwithstanding all we have given to the City.

Given the obvious attempts to influence the panel, we must remain vigilant and continue to press our case through the end of the presentation of evidence, through the deliberations, and on until an award is issued. The stakes continue to be very high. We will continue to spare no effort or expense to obtain the best possible award for our members.

Fraternally,

Patrick J. Lynch
President