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El
Monte POA Lands Record Contract
By: Dieter C. Dammeier
LACKIE &
DAMMEIER
El Monte
POA led by its President, Brian Glick and Vice President, Eric
Walterschied, have recently negotiated the best economic contract in El
Monte POA history. The contract calls for 8.75% to 9.75% salary
increase (depending on rank) in year one. This with the remaining
salary increases and continuing benefits make El Monte’s MOU one many
POA’s in the area seek to emulate.
After last
year’s contract negotiations which lasted almost the entire year and
resulted in no increase in compensation, the POA decided to alter its
strategy for the 2007 negotiations. The change started in replacing
their prior negotiator and hiring Lackie & Dammeier to handle contract
negotiations. From there, a strategy was laid out with the negotiating
team to place them in the best bargaining position possible.
While some
of the strategy cannot be disclosed in this article, the basics are
something most POA’s can relate to. Given that this year was an
election year for City Council, the primary objective was to build on
relationships between Councilmembers and the POA leadership. This
required a number of meetings between Glick and Walterschied and the
various City Councilmembers to discuss prioritizing public safety in the
community. Additionally, negotiating team members Chris Williams and
Jimmy Pitts reviewed the City’s financial records to determine an
accurate picture of what the City could afford in contract
negotiations. A full salary and benefits survey was completed to
determine what was necessary to keep El Monte attractive in the highly
competitive law enforcement market.
After the
strategy plan and data was collected, formal negotiations commenced with
the City’s negotiation team. As a matter of timing designed by the POA,
negotiations culminated at the same period the City was completing its
budget adoption for the next fiscal year. This allowed the POA to have
significant input on cost-saving reductions into next years budget, thus
freeing up money to provide for salary and benefit increases for the POA.
The research and preparation done by the negotiating team provided for
the necessary ammunition and counters to the City’s positions and claims
of financial woes. The City during the negotiating process claimed that
it did not have any funds available other than drawing down its reserves
to provide salary increases. After reviewing the budget and Police
Management diverting funds from other police accounts, the funds were
shown to be available without cutting into the reserves to fund the
POA’s requested increases.
With the
increased relationships the POA leadership had formed with City Council,
communications continued on educating the Councilmembers on the City’s
ability to cover the cost of the POA’s request. Unlike what occurs at
many negotiations, Police Management in El Monte took an active role in
attempting to provide increases for its officers. Police Management in
addition to freeing up funds within the police budget, was helpful in
convincing City Councilmembers of the need to remain competitive in the
marketplace for the ever-dwindling pool of quality law enforcement
personnel. It was nice to see a place where Police Management backed
the rank and file at negotiations.
With all of
the strategies and game plan culminating, the POA was able to reach a
three-year agreement. The agreement calls for an 8.75% increase in year
one for Officers, 9.75% increase for Lead Agents and Sergeants. Year
two salary will be a 4% increase for Officers and a 5% increase for
Sergeants. During the final twelve months of the contract, a 6%
increase for Officers and a 7% increase for Sergeants will occur.
Additionally, after many years of seeking this benefit, the POA was able
to open the door to bilingual pay, receiving $50 per month for basic
conversational skills and $100 per month for officers who are more
fluent in another language. Canine Officers, in addition to receiving
their 5.5% bonus pay will now receive seven hours of overtime pay per
pay period for compensation in the care and feeding of their dog.
Officers who receive specialized assignment pay, such as Detectives and
later return to patrol, will retain their bonus pay for brining their
specialized experience back to patrol. Finally, the City will continue
to fund the employees’ full family medical coverage.
This deal
exemplifies how a POA can take the necessary steps and put together and
execute a strategy plan for negotiations. The hard work and dedication
of the POA leadership to take the necessary steps is a primary component
of successful contract negotiations such as these.
About
the Author: Dieter C. Dammeier is a founding partner of Lackie &
Dammeier and the firm’s Chief Labor Contract Negotiator. |
