| Shock To Learn About Officer Pay |
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The Boston Police Patrolmen's Association (BPPA) recently received a proposal from the city that offered an insulting zero percent raise for three years. The Boston cops had already been working without a contract for 18 months. Feeling that they had been backed into a corner, union leaders called for drastic action. On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, off-duty Boston police officers formed a picket line in front of the convention center. National media immediately picked up the story and shamed the city into returning to the bargaining table where the union was able to negotiate a much-deserved 14 percent raise.Judging from the complaints coming from officials of the PBA of New York City, one would think that the city and the mayor have totally forgotten about the tragic deaths of scores of public safety employees on September 11. The PBA has been fighting for a decent contract for months. They used a similar strategy to the Boston union at the Republican National Convention and followed the mayor everywhere he went, pleading for a contract and a raise. It was a shock to learn that senior patrol officers' salaries – equivalent to our Q-4 scale – cap at $54,000 a year in Boston and New York, yet both of these cities have cost of living indexes as high as those here in the San Francisco Bay area. Things aren't much better for our west coast colleagues. Long Beach has bee without a contract for two years and their patrol officer salary tops out at just $60,000. In the mega-metropolis LA, police officers are paid about $73,000 at top scale. Portland, Seattle and Sacramento top out at between $55,000 and $61,000 a year. Most departments still work their officers on an eight-hour day. The few departments that do allow the 4-10 plan most likely do so with a fixed days-off schedule. Rare is the police department that rotates days-off around the ten-hour shift. Overtime restrictions are tighter in other agencies than here in San Francisco. When it comes to legal representation, the San Francisco Police Officers Association is way ahead of every other group, with the possible exception of the union representing the LAPD. In comparing one fundamental working condition, our transfer policy is superb. In most agencies, an officer who wants to transfer to a specialized unit makes the request in writing. But there is no fair and unbiased transfer into coveted units such as motors, mounted, etc. Many unions, particularly some on the east coast, are in "right to work" states. Those are states that have not protected the legal rights of police officers to collectively bargain. Neither do they have a "Police Officers Bill of Rights" like we have in California. Members of these unprotected unions are not entitled to representation when subject to disciplinary investigations and he or she is likely to be interviewed by internal affairs long before being provided with access to their employee representative. I learned that, overall, officers in the San Francisco Police Department are doing well. We work in one of the most liberal regions in America, which has posed its own set of problems.But Tom Nee, president of the Boston police union, said, "Many police officers have Republican philosophies when it comes to crime and punishment, but whether we like it or not, it's the Democrats who vote for our raises and allow us to raise our families and send our kids to decent schools."Nee also affirmed that it was the refusal of Democrats John Kerry and Ted Kennedy to cross the Boston police picket line at the DNC that finally compelled their mayor to negotiate an equitable contract with their union. Gary Delagnes is president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          |
