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The Tulsa F.O.P. and the Black Officers Coalition compared Mayor Dewey Bartlett to an extortionist recently after the mayor demanded that officers give up concessions or sustain mass layoffs. The two Tulsa, Oklahoma police organizations say they don't mean extortion in the literal sense. Theysay that the word extortion is the closest thing they can come up with to describe the mayor's actions. The groups representing the interests of Tulsa police officers are hopping mad about the mayor's ultimatum that officers give up concessions or face the possibility of massive layoffs.
"The mayor will push scores of our officers to the brink of financial and career destruction, then demand that their comrades pay for their salvation or bear the responsibility for their fate," the groups said in a news release distributed at a press conference. Though this is not extortion, an extortionist could not do it any better."
For his part, Mayor Bartlett said the officers should appreciate having a choice, rather than have the funding solution forced upon them, which is well within his powers. "I have a contract to follow with the union, and it says layoffs is the route I have to follow," he told reporters with the Tulsa World newspaper. They have to change that course." According to local media reports, the Tulsa Police Department is faced with cutting $3.4 million for the rest of the fiscal year and might have to lay off as many as 135 of its 808-member force.
"Officers often refer to themselves as a brotherhood and treat each other as family," Bartlett told the Tulsa World's Brian Barber. "Here's a good opportunity for that to be expressed. Concessions have to be agreed upon. If they are not, a lot of their brothers and sisters will lose their jobs. "They will be faced with not having paychecks or medical benefits. I'm pleading with the union to think about their fellow employees. I would hate to be someone who turned to his or her co-workers and said, 'Hey I'm sorry, but I'm for myself.'" Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 93 Trustee Ryan Perkins told reporters at the press conference that this tactic is like holding a gun to the head of officers' careers and then asking for ransom.
He encouraged citizens to make contact with their municipal elected officials to complain. Unfortunately many of those citizens have money and job problems of their own and are not likely to be swayed by the pleas of the police union. Mayor Bartlett said he would offer lists of suggested concessions to both the police and fire unions. The Fire Department is facing $2.5 million in cuts and could have 130 firefighter layoffs.
The lists will include things like salary cuts along with other financial benefits, including payments for advanced degrees, length of service, bilingual skills and uniforms, among others. "[The mayor] has created a situation where he can lay off officers and then blame it on the union," Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 93 Trustee Ryan Perkins told the World. Many officers whose jobs are not at risk "are looking for an exit strategy because they don't trust this administration," he said.
Black Officers Coalition President Tyrone Lynn at the press conference said that layoffs would have a devastating impact on minorities on the force. "This would roll back diversity at least 30 years, for sure," he told Barber in a recent interview. "And we're not where we need to be right now." Bartlett said that layoffs must happen through specific processes laid out by the Civil Service Commission, the City Charter and the police contract. The race of an employee is not a factor. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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