Police, Fire Unions Hope for New Contracts

The unions representing Long Beach police officers and professional firefighters, who have been working without new contracts, are hopeful that deals will get done now that a new Democratic majority is coming on board.

Both unions endorsed the Democrats in the November election, believing, in part, that their administration is more likely to return to the bargaining table.

City Councilman Len Torres, a Democrat, said negotiating the police and fire contracts will be a chief priority of the new administration.

“We look forward to getting everyone to the negotiating table and working with the current situation,” Torres said.

The police contract expired June 30, 2008, marking the longest period Long Beach police have worked without a new contract, according to Stefan Chernaski, president of the Long Beach Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, which represents about 70 members.

“We endorsed the Democrats across the board based on their commitment,” Chernaski said.

Almost two years ago, the New York State Public Employment Relations Board assigned a mediator, which made a recommendation that was approved by the PBA and was shot down by the City Council. An impasse was declared, which then sent the matter into binding arbitration and resulted in more than 25 grievances and several improper practice charges being filed against the city.

“We had a tremendous amount of grievances and improper practice charges against the city alleging a violation of the contract and the Taylor Law,” said Chernaski, who has been union president since June
2010.

The Taylor Law holds that public employers must negotiate in good faith with their employees.

“We’re just hoping that with the new administration, they will at least come to the table on some of these matters,” Chernaski added.

Meanwhile, the fire contract expired on June 30, 2010, and Billy Piazza, president of the Long Beach Professional Firefighters Association, said his union has met a few times with the city over a new contract, but they have failed to reach a new deal.

“There’s a better chance of an open dialogue with the incoming administration,” said Piazza, who added that his union filed between 12 and 15 complaints against the city alleging a violation of the contract.

Piazza, whose union represents 33 career firefighters, said firefighters’ issues are not mainly about money, but rather about staffing and their expanding job description.

“Looking at the big picture, it’s in nobody’s best interest to rush into getting a new contract,” he added. “To rush into this would not be fair to the city administration, the firemen or the public, especially with the current financial situation.”

City officials recently discovered Long Beach was running a year-end deficit of $1.3 million and the City Council recently agreed to borrow about $4.5 million to meet the city’s December payroll and cover the retirement packages of a few high-ranking police officials.

Torres said that with a gloomy financial picture staring at the city, everyone should expect some belt-tightening.

“Everyone has to make some concessions,” he said. “We don’t want to raise taxes and drive people out of Long Beach and we’re not looking for people to get laid off. That’s why we have to have some serious negotiations at the table. Everything will be put on the table, deductibles, payouts, everything. We have to be very careful about what we do.”

Torres said about $800,000 has been set aside in the city budget for retroactive pay for police. “It’s just sitting there for them,” he said.

The city’s Civil Service Employees Union was in pretty good shape, Torres said, having hammered out a new contract about two years ago.