Dear Fellow Sergeant,

Yesterday the SBA negotiating team had our first mediation session with the State appointed mediator. The goal of mediation is to have a neutral third party review the demands of both sides and attempt to move toward a resolution.

The general wage increases have already been agreed to and will not be altered in any way by this process.

We have received inquiries related to 12-hour tours being mandated by this process. The answer to that question is an unequivocal NO!

The only issues discussed in mediation are the two items that have resulted in the SBA being at an impasse with the City. The first item is the wage disparity that exists between Sergeants promoted before and after August 1, 2023. We spent most of the session detailing how the City broke pattern and created a situation where Police Officers earn more than some Sergeants.

At no point would we agree to a contract that did not rectify this injustice. Most of the hours-long session was dedicated to attempting to convince the mediator the merits of our proposal and the polarizing and debilitating effects of the Office of Labor Relations (OLR) inflexibility on operations, morale and retention of SBA members. To that end, we believe we made significant progress during this session.

The second impasse issue is how to permanently correct the salary steps for newly promoted Sergeants going forward. The SBA’s position is that this situation was created by OLR’s bargaining tactics and pattern breaking deals with other unions.

The SBA is unwilling to pay for a temporary solution. OLR maintains that the SBA must pay with givebacks, even if the solution is temporary. The City has set the givebacks at 6.5 months of zeroes for all Sergeants and 2 chart days for the first 5 years for Sergeants promoted in the future.

OLR’s solution would be useless after August 1, 2025, when the PBA is due for another raise. Our position is quite simple; the SBA will only agree to a solution that ensures Sergeants will always make more than the Police Officers they supervise on a permanent basis.

Although the session ended without an agreement, we believe we have established the framework for future sessions going forward that will ultimately lead to an agreement.

Thank you for your continued support during these frustrating negotiations and best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.

Fraternally,

Vincent J. Vallelong
President
Sergeants Benevolent Association