A police contract that needed help of lunch at Lorenzo’s and $40,000 in lawyers’ fees got its final needed approval Monday night.
The approval came at a Board of Aldermen’s meeting, complete with praise for a “bad boy clause” and long-term cost savings included in the labor contract.
The three-year contract covers 465 members in AFSCME Local 530. The union rank-and-file approved the package by a 276 to 45 vote on Sept. 30. (Click here and here for more details.)
Monday, aldermen unanimously approved a $40,000 payment to the law firm Berchem, Moses & Devlin PC for contract negotiations. They also voted unanimously to approve the new contract. Aldermen must vote up or down on a contract within 30 days of union approval.
Hill Alderman Jorge Perez applauded one part of the contract called a “bad boy clause.” According to this clause, cops convicted on corruption charges may have their pension benefits stripped. The city couldn’t do that before. Perez sought to address the issue through city legislation, but city officials said the real change had to come through language in the labor contract.
Beaver Hill Alderman Moti Sandman applauded the city and police union for implementing measures that would save taxpayers money.
Under the new contract, new hires will join a health care plan that’s cheaper for the city. And cops hired after Oct. 1, 2009, must join a hybrid pension plan. They will get a defined-benefit pension based on their salary, excluding any overtime or extra-duty work. Pension contributions for overtime and extra-duty work would go into a defined contribution plan, a 401(k).
Sandman and Aldermen Carl Goldfield and Roland Lemar outlined what they hoped to see in the contract in a letter dated July 7, 2008. They put forth suggestions on how to keep pensions and other costs from “bankrupting the city.” The letter sparked outrage from Police Union President Lou Cavaliere, who accused them of trying to strip police officers’ benefits. The aldermen did not have a direct role in the negotiations, but Sandman said Monday he is pleased to see many of the measures he endorsed included in the contract.
The police contract will serve as a template for the next round of labor agreements up for negotiation, most notably in the areas of health care and pension, Mayor John DeStefano has said. DeStefano personally moved the negotiations forward when he arranged a lunch meeting with union brass at Lorenzo’s Italian restaurant in West Haven; the meeting was credited with breaking a logjam.
Sandman said he is pleased to see that cost-cutting measures are under way.
“This gives us the ability to control our own destiny,” he said.
One issue remains unresolved: The use of extra-duty “hold-downs,” where a single cop can claim a steady extra-duty shift at a bar or business. The city wants to ban hold-downs; the police union wants to keep them. That issue alone will be settled by binding arbitration.