hen police officers think of their union, what comes to mind is collective bargaining, particularly the contracts/ arbitration awards that translate into wages and benefits. But the delivery of collective bargaining services and other benefits is a complicated undertaking involving the establishment of an infrastructure to deliver those benefits to the membership in an effective and costefficient manner. The PBA leadership employs a great deal of time and effort delivering collective bargaining services and union benefits, whether the union is at the bargaining table or not. The union’s business and its Health & Welfare funds’ operations are part of the leadership’s responsibilities and are managed through their daily efforts and those of the staff and advisors they direct.

The PBA leadership manages six entities:

The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Inc.

This is a not-for-profit corporation, and the legal entity established to deliver all the union-side services and benefits, which consist of collective bargaining, certain legal benefits, media and public relations, legislative efforts, web site /internet services, the research department, and certain pension advisory services. Employees of the union and a number of advisors help the leadership accomplish the organization’s goals.

The Active Police Officers Health & Welfare Fund

The Retiree Health & Welfare Fund

These are trusts, legal entities created to hold and administer the collectively-bargained Health & Welfare funds received from the city. The Funds Office employs 55 individuals and advisors to facilitate the delivery of the dental, drug, optical and other benefits.

The Annuity Fund

This is a trust that has been created to administer collectively-bargained annuity contributions on behalf of each member.

The Legal Services Fund

This is another PBA trust and is designed to deliver certain job-related benefits, including representation in criminal and administrative proceedings before the Department and the CCRB. Also, members may receive civil representation in cases arising out of job-related activities, when the city refuses to indemnify them.

The Widows' & Children's Fund

This is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit established to administer the charitable donations and member contributions to benefit the surviving spouses and children of officers killed in the line of duty.

All these activities are largely conducted in the four floors of PBA office space in downtown Manhattan, near One Police Plaza and other city offices, where much of the remaining business of the union and its members are conducted. While there were over 100 employees in the combined entities when the leadership took over in 1999, the staff stands at about 70 now, a product of a detailed review by the leadership and of efficiencies gained through a better allocation of resources.

To deliver the various components of union and fund benefits, the leadership has to manage its team of staff and advisors every day. Virtually every component of modern business has legal implications, and the personnel in the General Counsel’s office assist in these matters, as requested, under the leadership’s direction. For example, contracts with service and benefit providers are constantly under review or are being put out for reconsideration through a bidding process. One form of review ensures that the providers are meeting service and price guarantees. The leadership hasn’t hesitated to file legal actions against those providing benefits and services, whether it be the City of New York or private providers, to ensure the proper performance of contractual guarantees.

One of this PBA administration’s goals was to modernize and professionalize its business operation to facilitate better serving the membership. The advent of great changes in computer hardware, software and telephone technology compelled the PBA to update its office operations to meet the changing business environment.

When this administration took office in 1999, it soon realized it had inherited a dinosaur of a main frame system jerry-rigged with bandaids and tape to conduct much of its business. Almost from the outset, the administration had to confront those shortcomings and migrate almost its entire funds operation from a main frame environment to a Local Area Network (LAN-based) system. New data processing software had to be identified for its benefit operations, and a significant training effort had to be pursued to bring the staff up date on the changes in the software and computing platform. Putting this new platform in place took countless hours of leadership and staff efforts.

On the real estate front, the lease on the current PBA office space is soon expiring. The PBA has engaged in an 18-month search to identify new offices and/or explore renegotiating its current lease. The effort has involved countless hours and a team of real estate specialists, architects and technical advisors to assess the appropriateness of the various options available in the market. Since the real estate market is currently favorable for tenants, the process, while lengthy and time-consuming, will likely yield significant savings for the PBA and its funds.

Counter-parties to all the unions’ relationships — whether vendors, the Department or the city — have become more sophisticated in how they run their operations and how they attempt to press for an advantage in their dealings with the union and its members. The PBA must consistently review its staff, infrastructure and support services to meet the new challenges. By constantly reviewing its current team and the tools available to them, and modifying them as needs dictate, the PBA hopes to be in a position to meet all future organizational challenges.

These are just some of the challenges the leadership confronts in managing the PBA every day. While rarely coming to the attention of its members, these behind- the-scenes efforts are incredibly time-consuming but also vitally important for the union to deliver the services and benefits the membership expects.