Police Union Leadership

Harvard UniversityApril 17, 2010

Surviving as a Police Union when the road does not go on forever

and the party has ended:

A Paradigm Shift in Policing & the

Economic Downturn Requires a New Reality

Ronald G. DeLordSpecial Counsel

400 W. 14th StreetSuite 200Austin, TX 78701Office: (512) 495-9111Mobile: (512) 461-9420

Email:ron.delord@cleat.org

Web Site:www.cleat.org

Police Union Power, Politics and

Confrontation in the 21st Century:

New Challenges, New Issues

(2nd Edition)

Ron DeLordJohn H. Burpo

Michael ShannonJim Spearing

Charles C. Thomas, Publisher

http://www.ccthomas.com

Navigating the Dangerous Waters of Police Labor Management Relations (Volumes I & II)

To Obtain a Free Copy

COPS Office Response Center

At800.421.6770Or Online at

www.cops.usdoj.gov

What caused the decline of the Auto

Workers, Coal Miners, Steel

Workers, Teamsters & other

major unions?

Are there any parallels to the

challenges faced by Police Unions & those faced by

these unions from their peak in 1955 to their irrelevance

30 years later?

•Changing conditions in the 1980s and 1990s – shrinking share of the work force•Strikes to get higher wages & benefits & ignoring the competition from foreign & domestic competitors – costs of labor exceed comparables•Automation equaled labor savings & displaced workers•Shift to a service industry•Negative publicity about labor bosses, corruption, featherbedding & ghost employees•Labor contracts are protected inefficiencies •Rivalry & raiding between unions – witness AFL-CIO & CTW battles

A Tsunami is Building to hit

Policing & Police Unions

The Key to Survival is Understanding the Shift from the Old

Paradigm to the New Paradigm; the Agents of Change Driving the Shift; Adapting to the

New Economic Reality; & Developing a

Strategic Plan to Bend Instead of Breaking

“Think of a Paradigm Shift

as a change from one way of

thinking to another. It’s a revolution, a

transformation, a sort of

metamorphosis. It just does not

happen, but rather it is

driven by agents of change.”

•Unionized with CBA protections•Health insurance for actives & retirees (heavily subsidized by the City)•Defined Benefit Pensions (20-30 years & 50%-90% of highest salary)•Annual cost of living raises & step pay increases expected by officers•Specialty & assignment pay for just about any job•Promotions by written exams, assessment & seniority (general union resistance to mandatory educational requirements)•Job security with little threat of layoffs (current officers not employed during last economic downturn)•Difficult to discipline or terminate marginal officers•Generous vacation leave, sick leave & comp time (substantial “drag up “pay)•Union resistance to any effort to use civilians or private contractors•Little concern by union as to the rising cost of policing vs. comparable private sector standards•The “recruiting crisis” was just an excuse to get more money & it was not the union’s problem

•Percentage of private sector unionized now only 8% (i.e., 92% at will employees w/o CBA protections)•Cities want greater cost sharing for health insurance for actives & want to dump retiree coverage•Cities want multiple tiers for Defined Benefit Pensions, officers to work longer, get less pension & in many places create 401K plans instead of DBP for new hires•Annual cost of living raises & step pay increases being frozen for at least 1-2 years •Cities want concessions on specialty & assignment pay •Cities want to modernize promotional schemes to increase diversity especially a command level & match educational requirements in private sector •Police Unions are being forced to decide on severe lifetime concessions vs. layoffs & furloughs•Media is questioning protections for problem officers (costs to recruit & train warrants higher standards of conduct)•Cities want concessions of generous leave provisions when average private sector employee gets 10 vacation days & generally unpaid sick leave•Rising cost of policing warrants questioning “do we need a sworn officer to do the job?”•Unions struggling to justify not using technology, civilians & private contractors•Cities demanding modernized recruiting rules to diverse workforce •Gen Y officers have different views on pensions, promotions, seniority etc.

Has your answer to these questions changed?Do you believe the budget cuts

currently impacting policing are simply a cyclical event?

If it is a cyclical event, was it caused by today’s bad economic times & when the economy improves the cuts will be reinstated?

If the economy improves do you believe state & local governments will continue to pay wages, benefits & pensions that far exceed comparable private sector jobs?

Or do you believe it is a sign of a structural or paradigm shift nationwide?

•Tulsa (OK) – city to lay off 155 officers if FOP does not make concessions•Aurora (IL) – union agrees to concessions•Cleveland (OH) – police supervisors reject concessions & layoffs & demotions occur•Naples (FL) – impasse because city wants 6% pay cut & two year wage freeze•Prince George’s Co (MD) – union ratified concessions•Las Vegas (NV) – city employees accepted concessions•Rockford (IL) – union concessions in eliminating special units•Cincinnati (OH) – FOP agreed to concessions & furloughs•Anchorage (AK) – union agreed to rollback 3% wage increase•El Paso, El Paso Co & Austin (TX) – unions deferred wage increases•And the list goes on and on…

What are the challenges & options for

Police Unions in the New

Paradigm & Economic

Reality

Since Gen Y officers want lifestyle friendly work places, has your union reviewed its hours of work to find shifts & schedules that are more lifestyle friendly?

Is your union pursuing alternative scheduling such as part time, flex time & job sharing to attract & retain female officers (and some males)?

Would having subsidized (city and/or union) child care for officers improve morale, reduce family-related stress & encourage retention?

Since Gen Y officers do not see themselves working anywhere for 20-30 years, should the union being seriously considering portable pensions (401K plans) for those officers who desire it?

Gen Y officers want more rapid promotions and current schemes are archaic & seniority driven. Is it time to create promotional schemes with real career tracks like the military – enlisted, NCOs and Officers?

In light of high salaries & duties of command level officers, why are these ranks not comparable to the private sector in educational requirements?

• Since police face the more disciplinary scrutiny than other employees, how important is it to develop an “education-based” disciplinary model created in Los Angeles County?

• Are current protections keeping too many marginal officers on the job? What should be the role of the union?

• In hard times should the union being analyzing contract provisions to remove “featherbedding,” practices that waste resources & do not add to efficiency or effectiveness of the department?

• Probably 50% of the work traditionally done by sworn officers as been replaced by technology, civilians & private contractors. Is it time to re-examine whether Police Unions should represent all employees in the department doing “law enforcement functions” as opposed to just sworn officers? The number of sworn officers as percentage of the department has been shrinking for decades.

• Canadian and New Zealand have Police Union representing both groups

Questions, Comment

s or Opinions?