FOP Update: Contract Negotiations and Pension Lawsuit >> Robert Cherry 11/19/2013 2:40:34 PM >>> To all Police Officers, Sergeants and Lieutenants, Contract Negotiations: The FOP and City of Baltimore will begin negotiations on a contract for Fiscal Year 2014 (July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014) during the first week of December 2013 and we hope to conclude them sometime in January/February 2014. The FOP Labor Committee will meet as a group to discuss the negotiations on Tuesday, November 26, 2013. As I mentioned in previous updates, the FOP will present a wage proposal and we will be asking for a multi-year agreement. In the FOP’s Blueprint for Improved Policing that was published on July 11, 2012, we called for a redeployment strategy and sector/post realignment that we are confident will provide the City of Baltimore with the savings necessary to support a salary increase for our police officers, sergeants and lieutenants. We are confident the consultants’ report, which is scheduled to be published soon, will also include this recommendation. There are also a number of non-economic issues that we anticipate will be put forward by the FOP and City of Baltimore. We will bring to the table several of the General Orders the BPD previously tried to publish only to pull them back after being reminded by the FOP that they need to be bargained. This includes, but is not limited to, the GOs on Leave and Drug Testing. We will continue to keep the membership updated as negotiations progress. Pension Update: The FOP and Fire Unions have filed our briefs in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The City of Baltimore also filed their brief. Oral arguments have not been scheduled although we anticipate obtaining a date sometime in early 2014. In the meantime, the FOP and Fire Unions will continue to push for a settlement outside of court. The core of this settlement is focused on a return to the “20 and out” for those active members who had it stripped from them with the legislation passed by the City Council and signed by the Mayor on July 1, 2010. We are also seeking a reasonable COLA (cost of living adjustment) for all retired police officers and firefighters. We will continue to keep the membership updated as settlement discussions pick up speed. Finally, I would ask every member of the FOP to refrain from listening to the rumors circulating on the street. These have been tough times, and we recognize morale is low, and believe me when I say we have expressed the concerns of our police officers to the Mayor, City Council and top BPD Command. For the first time probably since Edward Norris was Police Commissioner, we have a Police Commissioner in Anthony Batts who recognizes our police officers deserve better pay. It’s our job now to get it done at the table. --Bob Cherry
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 02:39:29 +0000
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