Paterson has tentative contract settlements with police and fire unions

BY JOE MALINCONICO

JUNE 20, 2016

PATERSON – The city’s negotiators have reached tentative contract agreements with the labor unions representing Paterson’s police officers and firefighters – the groups that include the highest paid employees in municipal government.

Officials have not yet made the proposed contracts public. The City Council is scheduled to conduct closed-door discussions about the tentative agreements on Tuesday night.

Several council members said the agreements would provide the unions with annual pay increases that do not exceed two percent. The contract proposals for the police department would keep in place a schedule that has most city law enforcement officers work four days and then get four days off. Several years ago, council members and Police Chief William Fraher had said they wanted to put a stop to the four-on, four-off arrangement because they said it prevented the city from getting maximum use of its law enforcement staff.

Meanwhile, city Council Finance Chairman Kenneth Morris said he was concerned that the proposed contracts would allow police officers and firefighters to get longevity pay increases, even though the city imposed a freeze on longevity pay for other municipal workers.

The contracts cover the two departments with the largest payrolls - $41.8 million for police and $31.2 million for fire.

The proposed contracts for four fire department unions would date back to August 2010, while the agreements for the two police unions would go back to August 2012.

The presidents of the unions that represent rank-and-file police officers and firefighters did not respond to phone messages seeking their comments for this story.

“We’ll see how our conversation goes Tuesday night,” Council President William McKoy said when asked about the contracts.

Councilman Mohammed Akhtaruzzman said he liked the limits the contracts would place on retroactive pay. But he did not provide further details on those provisions.

Councilman Alex Mendez said he thinks the contracts will protect the interests of Paterson taxpayers.

But Morris said he was concerned that the contracts would allow city police officers and firefighters to continue to get increases in their longevity pay.

Under the city’s previous contract with the police union, officers with 20 years’ service received an extra 10 percent of their base salaries for longevity. That percentage rose in regular increments until it topped off at 18 percent of their base salaries once they reached 24 years’ service.

Morris said that at the state’s direction the city imposed a freeze a couple years ago so that there would be no additional increases in longevity pay. Morris wondered whether an exception was made for the public safety unions.