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SCHENECTADY
Police union rejects contract proposal
City sought mandatory OT after officer incident with no supervisor on duty
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.

A police contract with a mandatory overtime requirement has been rejected by the city’s police union. The city offered 2 and 3 percent raises on a multiyear contract in exchange for four main changes.
According to two city officials who asked to remain anonymous because of the city’s policy to not make contract negotiations public, the contract would have required police to pay for a small portion of their health insurance, a measure already adopted by every other city union. It also would have set some limits on comp time and major limits on overtime and union time, the officials said.
    The overtime provision would have allowed management to make overtime mandatory in certain situations.
    Sources said the policy was proposed specifically to address the situation in which off-duty Offi cer John Lewis got into an accident and was driven home by rookie officers last year. He was allegedly driving drunk, but the rookies did not conduct sobriety tests or ask him to take a Breathalyzer test. Instead, they called headquarters to ask for advice from a supervisor.
    No supervisor was on duty that night. All of the supervisors had refused when offered overtime to work that shift, a city official said. ...............>>>>................>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01300&AppName=1

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the contract would have required police to pay for a small portion of their health insurance, a measure already adopted by every other city union. It also would have set some limits on comp time and major limits on overtime and union time, the officials said.
    The overtime provision would have allowed management to make overtime mandatory in certain situations.
    Sources said the policy was proposed specifically to address the situation in which off-duty Offi cer John Lewis got into an accident and was driven home by rookie officers last year. He was allegedly driving drunk, but the rookies did not conduct sobriety tests or ask him to take a Breathalyzer test. Instead, they called headquarters to ask for advice from a supervisor.
    No supervisor was on duty that night. All of the supervisors had refused when offered overtime to work that shift, a city official said.

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ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO EXPANDS INVESTIGATION INTO “PENSION PADDING”

Cuomo Sends Letters to Local Government Employers and Authorities That Have Some of the Highest Salary or Pension Payments in the State

Investigation Aimed at Artificial Inflation of Compensation to Boost Pension Payout

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http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2010/mar/mar24a_10.html



Perhaps Schenectady County should be added to the list of municipalities shown at the bottom of the article.

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SCHENECTADY
City police approve contract
Commissioner says deal with union signals ‘culture change’
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    It all came down to sick days for children.
    After seven months of negotiation — and before that, years of bitter talks and arbitration — the city police voted Monday to approve a new contract that included a long list of concessions. The concessions were rejected last month, but accepted Monday after the city sweetened the pot by offering extra sick days officers can take when family members are ill.
    Restrictions on union leave and comp time, employee contributions to health insurance and tougher drug testing rules were all accepted by the police union. The City Council approved the contract two hours later.
    Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett said the new contract makes it possible to manage the police department.
    “We’re talking culture change here,” he said. “The union has obviously come to grips with the fact that things can’t continue as they were.”
    He said changes were driven by the large group of new officers who have brought “refreshing” attitudes to the department.
    “They want the reputation to be outstanding,” he said.
    In return for the concessions, police will get a series of 2- and 3-percent annual raises, retroactive to 2008 and continuing through 2012.
    The city also agreed to an early retirement program that will allow as many as 20 officers to retire in 2011 and 2012. Each officer who agrees to retire early will be paid $20,000. .............>>>>...............>>>>..............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00100&AppName=1

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The entire department will get just 360 union days to use each year. The nine union leaders meet once monthly, using up 108 of those days; the rest must be saved for grievances, negotiations and other contract matters.
    Bennett said officers used 621 days for union business each year for the past three.
    “So union leave has been reduced 42 percent,” he said.
    Union President Robert Hamilton, who has traditionally taken nearly every day off for union business, may have to do more police work because of the new rule.

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Union President Robert Hamilton, who has traditionally taken nearly every day off for union business, may have to do more police work because of the new rule.