Chicago Police Sergeants' Association

Contract

UPDATE: 01 October 09

The C.P.S.A. Active Membership has REJECTED the City’s Contract Proposal

Number of ballots returned: 1,012 (79% )
Spoiled ballots: 2
Ballots counted: 1,010
Number of votes to accept the proposed Contract: 84 ( 8%)
Number of votes to reject the proposed Contract: 926 (92%)

John Pallohusky
President - CPSA

17 September 09

The ballots have been mailed out for active sergeants to cast their vote to accept or reject the City’s proposed 01 July 2007 through 30 June 2012 Contract. The ballots were mailed to each sergeant’s residence. If you do not receive your ballot within the next few days, please contact the C.P.S.A. office to have a ballot sent out to you. You may also arrange to come to the C.P.S.A. office and cast your ballot in person.

Ballots must be returned to the C.P.S.A. office by 30 September 09. The ballots will be counted on 01 October 09.

The C.P.S.A. Board is recommending that you vote NO and REJECT the City’s contract proposal.

CONTRACT UPDATE: 25 August 09

The contract document that we received from the City contained discrepancies in the verbiage which substantially changed how the contract would be interpreted and applied.

The City has been advised of these errors and we are awaiting the revised document. Once we receive this document we will post it on the Web site and make a hard copy available to any member that request one. In addition informational sessions will be scheduled to answer any questions that our members may have after reviewing the contract proposal.

With regards to age 55 for retiree health care benefits, the City refused to offer this to the Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains outside of the individual rank contract proposals. The City has made the age 55 for retiree health care benefits contingent upon the contract being ratified by the membership.

It is anticipated that in the latter part of September ballots will be mailed out to each active sergeant’s residence so that they will be able to cast their vote to either ratify or reject the contract.

John Pallohusky
President - CPSA

CONTRACT UPDATE: 29 July 09

On Wednesday 29 July 09 we had a contract negotiation meeting with the City. Several issues were discussed, including reducing the age from 60 to 55 for retiree health care benefits. As many of you are aware the FOP recently reached an agreement with the City over health care benefits. Previously we reported that we had made significant progress in eliminating the restrictions the City had proposed to us for lowering the age for retiree health care benefits from the current age of sixty (60) to age fifty ( 55).

After much discussion and several counter proposals the City’s final offer resulted in a memorandum of understanding for health care benefits that is contingent on ratification by the CPSA membership of the City’s complete contract proposal.

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A. Applicability

The memorandum of understanding applies to any sergeant who retires on or after age fifty-five (55) with a retirement date on or after November 1, 2009, regardless of whether he/she is currently or then eligible for the health care benefit provided to sergeants who retire on or after age sixty (60) by Article 12 of the agreement.

B. Health Care Benefits Upon Retirement

Officers Who Retire on or After Age Sixty (60)
Officers who retire on or after age sixty (60) shall continue to receive the health care benefit set forth in Article 12 of the Agreement, but shall have their final compensation paid in accordance with Section (C).
Officers Who Retire on or After Age Fifty-Five (55) and Before Age Sixty (60)
Officers who retire on or after age fifty-five (55) and before age sixty (60) shall be eligible for the heath care benefit set forth in Article 12 of the Agreement, provided that they file for retirement in accordance with the following schedule.

Filing Deadline	Effective Date of Retirement
30 Days Prior to Effective Date of Retirement	11/01/2009 through 03/31/2010
10/01/2010	11/01/2010 through 12/31/2010
10/01/2011	11/01/2011 through 12/31/2011

For calendar year 2012 and each succeeding calendar year thereafter, the schedule shall be a filing deadline of October 1 with effective dates of retirement of November 1 through December 31.

C. Payment of Final Compensation Upon Retirement

1. Legally Required Final Compensation

Upon retirement, the Employer shall pay to each eligible officer or his/her estate if
necessary any compensation owed to such officer in the form of wages earned, unused compensatory time granted pursuant to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), unused elective time provided by Agreement (e.g., furlough days, baby furlough days and personal days) and any other final compensation that may be legally owed to such officer. Any wage increases that are implemented during the term of the Agreement and that are effective prior to the officer’s date of retirement shall be applied retroactivity to his/her legally required final compensation paid pursuant to this subsection.

2. Non-FLSA Compensatory Time

Upon retirement, the Employer shall calculate the value of each officer’s accumulated
non-FLSA compensatory time (if any) based on the officer’s rate of pay in effect at the time of retirement. As part of the officer’s legally required final compensation, the Employer will then pay to the officer or his/her estate the value of his/her non-FLSA compensatory time up to yet not exceeding $20,000.00. Any wage increases that are implemented during the term of the Agreement and that are effective prior to the officer’s date of retirement shall be applied retroactively to his/her legally required final compensation paid pursuant to this subsection.

On or before March 1 of the first calendar year following the date of the officer’s retirement, the Employer shall pay to the officer or his/her estate the value of his/her remaining non-FLSA compensatory time up to yet not exceeding $15,000.00. If a remainder exists, the Employer shall pay to the officer of his/her estate one-third of the value of the remainder.

On or before March 1 of the second calendar year following the date of the officer’s retirement, the Employer shall pay to the officer or his/her estate the value of his/her remaining non-FLSA compensatory time up to yet not exceeding $15,000.00. If a remainder exists, the Employer shall pay to the officer of his/her estate one-half of the value of the remainder.

On or before March 1 of the third calendar year following the date of the officer’s retirement, the Employer shall pay to the officer or his/her estate the value of any and all remaining non-FLSA compensatory time.

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We also have a letter of agreement regarding the “Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Retiree Health Care Benefits”

This letter confirms the Employer’s representations during negotiations regarding Section (B)(1) of the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Retiree Health Care Benefits and the required payment schedule for final compensation set forth therein. Specifically, by its terms, Section (B)(1) mandates that the officers who retire on or after age sixty (60) will have their final compensation paid in accordance with the payment schedule established by Section (C) of the Memorandum. Notwithstanding this provision, if the application of such provision would cause an officer to suffer severe financial hardship, the officer may submit a written request to the Employer to receive all of his/her final compensation at the time of retirement (e.g., wages earned, unused elective time and the value of all forms of accumulated compensatory time), and the Employer shall grant such request upon sufficient proof of financial necessity.

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Once we receive and review the City’s final contract proposal we will post the entire document.

John Pallohusky
President - CPSA

CONTRACT UPDATE: 23 July 09

Our next contract meeting with the City is scheduled for 29 July 09. We will post an update after this meeting ASAP.

As noted in the current July issue of the Chevrons we have made significant progress in eliminating the restrictions the City had proposed for lowering the age for retiree health care coverage from the current age of sixty (60) down to age fifty (55). The City has agreed to withdraw their original requirement that a certain percentage of members had to agree each year to elect to retire in order to be eligible for insurance coverage. The City also agreed to expand the effective date of retirement from 01 December to 01 November, thereby allowing anyone who chooses to retire to be eligible for the COLA. The City is also willing to keep this provision in effect until such time as the next contract would be approved by providing for a successor agreement. A major concern is that this proposal is not structured with a termination date thereby making it a one time offer.

Previously Posted on 19 July 09

On 15 July 09, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Mayor Daley stated that "he'll roll the dice and ask an independent arbitrator to dictate new contracts with police officers and firefighters who must do their part to help solve the city's financial crisis."

Prior to this statement by the Mayor, the City's negotiating team never proposed seeking arbitration. In fact, as recent as a few days prior to this announcement by the Mayor we had been attempting to schedule a negotiation meeting with the City in an effort to resolve our differences. Apparently the term negotiating in "good faith" only applies to us.

As of this date we have not been formally notified that the City is seeking interest arbitration. In fact, the City has yet to present a final proposal for our consideration.

We fully understand the current economic conditions the City is challenged with, but our members deserve a fair wage increase that reflects the cost of living in the City of Chicago. The City would like the public to believe that we are being unreasonable in our demands, but there are a few things the City and news reporters do not inform the public about; for instance that our members are being compensated at 2007 salary levels and that the City wants to maintain that wage level through 2012, additionally our members have a residency requirement that prevents them from moving outside the City in an effort to seek financial relief in the form of more affordable housing, educational choices for their children and lower tax rates.

It is our intention to meet with the City in an effort to continue negotiating and attempt to resolve our differences. If the City decides not to present us with a final proposal for our membership to consider and instead demands interest arbitration then we will take the necessary steps to address the City’s position.

John Pallohusky

CONTRACT UPDATE: 19 July 09

As of this date we have not been formally notified that the City is seeking interest arbitration. In fact, the City has yet to present a final proposal for our consideration.

John Pallohusky
President - CPSA

Contract 2007-08 Update: 30 May 09

The next contract negotiation session with the City is scheduled for 04 June 09.

Discussions will focus on the following.

Attempt to resolve the remaining issues on reducing the age from 60 to 55 to be eligible for retiree health insurance.
Reject the City's proposal to implement physical fitness standards as a condition of future promotions.
Salary and Wage issues.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants' Association

Contract 2007-08 Update: 16 May 09

We last met with the City on 27 April 09. After much discussion the City withdrew their demand to amend Section 8.4 (Use and Destruction of File Material).

Once again much of this negotiation session focused on the issue of reducing the age for retiree medical insurance coverage from the current age of 60 to age 55. Our position was that the original proposal by the City contained too many restrictions and was based on unacceptable contingencies to be considered as presented. At this meeting the City presented us with a revised proposal. This revised proposal, while a move in the right direction still fell short of addressing all of our concerns, mainly ensuring that at the end of the contract, retiree health insurance would continue without restrictions. The revised proposal did attempt to address our demands by eliminating the previous requirement that 50% of eligible members within the three ranks participate during each year. It also expanded the declaration deadline from 01 Nov to 01 Oct of the year a member would decide to retire and expanded the date to retire from 01 Dec to 01 Nov. thereby allowing any member who decided to retire to have the opportunity to be eligible for the COLA.

The City has also proposed that all future promotions include some sort of minimum physical fitness standard. Even though the City did not provide any details as to what they consider “minimum physical fitness standard” the Union’s position is to reject this proposal in its entirety.

Salary and wage issues continue to pose a challenge. Since we last met with the City we have had several discussions with our labor attorneys as to what options we might have if the City refuses to agree to a fair economic package.

The next contract negotiation session with the City was scheduled for 18 May 09. This meeting has been canceled due do a death in the family of our lead labor attorney.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants' Association

Contract 2007-08 Update: 25 April 09

We last met with the City on 20 April 09 and are schedule to meet again Monday, 27 April 09.

At the meeting on 20 April 09 the following issues were discussed, reducing the age for retiree medical insurance from the current age of 60 to age 55, City’s proposal to amend section 8.4 of the current contract regarding retention of files and salary / wage issues.

During this meeting progress was made with regards to the City agreeing to withdraw their original proposal to include language in section 8.4. requiring the permanent retention of files relating to exonerated, unfounded and not sustained C.R. investigations.

Salary and wage issues continue to pose a challenge for both sides. While we fully appreciate the City’s financial position, the bottom line is we believe the City has the resources to provide a fair and equitable wage package for our members.

The majority of this negotiation session focused on reducing the age for retiree medical insurance coverage from the current age of 60 to age 55. Our position was the current proposal by the City contained too many restrictions and was based on unacceptable contingencies to be considered as presented. After much discussion, the City agreed to re-draft their original proposal in an attempt to address our concerns.

Both sides agreed to meet again on 27 April 09 in an effort to move these negotiations forward.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants' Association

Contract 2007-08 Update: 19 April 09

The next contract meeting with the City is scheduled for 20 April 2009.

We intend to focus on salary and wage issues, along with working on the City’s previous proposal of reducing the age for retiree medical insurance from the current age of 60 to age 55. The City's current proposal has too many restrictions to be considered as presented.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants' Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 31 March 2009

Discussions continue with the City surrounding the previous proposal presented by the City of lowering the age from 60 to 55 for retirement health care. As previously outlined, there are several issues that the CPSA feels are too restrictive. We continue to work with our labor attorneys and negotiating team to address the economic issues, which include wage proposals.

Due to our ongoing contract negotiations, the Executive Board of the CPSA has voted not to participate in the upcoming “informational picketing”. The CPSA Executive Board fully understands the frustrations that have prompted the other police unions to take this action, but at this time we believe the interests of the members of the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association are best served by the ongoing negotiation process.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants' Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 22 March 2009

On 18 March 09 we met with the City's Negotiating Team. The City presented a proposal for lowering the age from 60 to 55 for retiree health care benefits. We were also provided with a revised proposal for salary and related benefits.

The City is proposing the following with regards to Health Care Benefits for future retirees. These are the initial proposals from the City and do not reflect any response or counter proposal from the C.P.S.A.

The City's proposal would allow officers who retire on or after age 55 (instead of age 60) and their eligible dependents to participate in the health care plans offered to active officers with the full cost of coverage paid for by the City until they either reach the age for full Medicare coverage or cease to be a dependent under a plan. However, there are certain requirements and restrictions as outlined below.

The proposal would only apply to an officer who retires on or after age fifty-five (55) with a retirement date on or after 01 December 2009 through 30 June 2012, regardless of whether he/she is currently or then eligible for the health care benefit provided to officers who retire on or after age sixty (60).

Eligibility is dependent on 50% of the officers who are within the same age range within all three units (Captains, Lieutenants and Sergeants) file within the proposed deadlines.

Filing Deadline	Effective Date of Retirement
01 Nov 2009	01 Dec 2009 through 31 Dec 2009
01 Nov 2010	01 Dec 2010 through 31 Dec 2010
01 Nov 2011	01 Dec 2011 through 31 Dec 2011

The proposal would require that upon retirement initial disbursements of non-FLSA compensatory Time would not exceed $20,000.00 and any remaining non-FLSA compensatory time be spread equally over the next three years. All payouts are based on the salary rate at time of retirement. Disbursements would be made as soon as practicable after 01 February of each year.

This proposal would expire on 30 June 2012 and any continuation of the above outlined terms would be the subject of future negotiations.

With regards to salaries and related benefits the City is proposing we implement a "me to" provision, without setting a base starting structure. The City is also proposing a 5-Year Agreement (07/01/2007 – 06/30/2012). Again, these are the current proposals from the City and do not reflect any response or counter proposal from the C.P.S.A.

Since the meeting on 18 March 09 with the City, we have discussed these proposals with our labor attorneys and are in the process of preparing a response.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants' Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 10 March 2009

We recently met with the City and at that time they were not prepared to fully discuss economic issues. However, the City was prepared to address certain aspects of our previous counter proposal relating to operational needs. Listed below are the issues that were discussed.

C.P.S.A. presented a proposal to increase Watch Bids within District Law Enforcement. The City rejected our proposal. City's position is no change from the current contract.

C.P.S.A. presented a proposal to open bids up in Units. The City rejected the proposal.

The City has proposed all I.A.D. and I.P.R.A. interviews and statements of officers be recorded, with a copy provided within 72hrs. The C.P.S.A. counter proposal was that the officer would have the right to bring their own recording device (provided by the CPSA) to the interview. The City rejected the proposal.

C.P.S.A. rejected making changes to Section 8.4 of the current contract. The City insists on revising section 8.4 of the current contract so as to retain all files permanently.

With regards to economic issues there was one exception. One of our original proposals to the City was to reduce the age from 60 to 55 for retiree health coverage. Interestingly, the City revisited this issue and has now proposed the possibility of making this a reality. The major concern to the City is the immediate economic impact of implementing this proposal if there were to be a significant number of officers to retire. At this point the City has not proposed any reduction in their current salary and benefits proposal, including waiving of any retroactivity monies. While we consider this a significant proposal and a major reversal from the City's previous position, we remain skeptical until we receive the City's complete economic proposal.

The next contract negotiation meeting with the City and Department is scheduled for 18 March 2009. The City has indicated that they will be in a position to discuss all economic issues at this time.

Another issue that was discussed was implementing a post retirement health savings account. We have had ongoing discussions with the City regarding this benefit since it was agreed to in the current contract. The City has presented the CPSA with a proposal to implement a VEBA (Voluntary Employee Benefit Association). This proposal calls for Nationwide Retirement Plans to administer the program. This is the same proposal that was presented to the Captain's and Lieutenant's Associations. The CPSA is not bound by any agreements that either of these Associations enter into with the City. The original proposal was revised by the City on 25 February 09. Currently, I am seeking clarification from the City on several important points, some of which include requirements of the IRS. Once we have the requested information we will post it on the Web site. I also anticipate that it will be necessary to hold informational sessions to address the concerns of our membership. While this program could provide valuable benefits for our members, each member will be asked to vote on it. Nothing will be agreed to without each member having the opportunity to vote on it.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants' Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 17 February 2009

The next contract negotiation meeting with the City and Department is scheduled for 25 February 2009.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants' Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 19 January 2009

Several of our members have inquired about rumors which are circulating that the City has made a proposal to lower the age to qualify for retirement medical insurance coverage from sixty down to fifty five. While this is one of the proposals the C.P.S.A. presented to the City it is ONLY a RUMOR at this time. Another rumor apparently circulating is the C.P.S.A. has agreed to waive retroactivity provisions relating to wages and benefits. This is also a rumor.

We continue to press the City to meet in January to continue the negotiation process, but no date has been set yet. Previously I stated this was due to conflicting schedules. While this remains the case, it is not due to any scheduling problem on the part of C.P.S.A. In fact the C.P.S.A. has never refused to meet with the City's negotiating team. Negotiation sessions involve not only the C.P.S.A., but outside attorneys representing the City and C.P.S.A., city budget department members, C.P.D. exempt members, corporation council representatives and other support staff.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 04 January 2009

Previously we had presented a counter proposal to the City addressing the below captioned points. On 18 December 2008 we were scheduled to meet with the City’s negotiating team to discuss these issues. Shortly before this meeting the City notified our attorneys that they were still reviewing our counter proposal and requested additional time to respond. Since the City did not flat out reject our proposal we felt this was a reasonable request and a positive step in moving these contract negotiations forward.

Issues addressed in our counter proposal.

5 year contract
Inadequate wage & benefit package.
No increase in Watch Bids within District Law Enforcement (currently 5 per watch)
Changes to section 8.4 of the current contract.
Maintain sustained C.R. numbers for the entire career of the officer.
Inclusion of on-duty random alcohol testing
Mandatory alcohol and drug testing for any off-duty incident involving the discharge of a firearm.
Audio recording of all statements given by officers to I.P.R.A. and I.A.D.

We expect the next contract negotiating session will be in late January, but as of yet have not set a date due to scheduling conflicts on both sides. It is our intention, as well as the City’s to keep these negotiating sessions moving forward.

Since we already had scheduled a meeting with the City for 18 Dec 08, we suggested that we utilize the time to discuss the status of establishing a retirement health savings plan or VEBA (Voluntary Employee Benefit Association). This plan, if approved by the membership would allow for members to contribute pre-tax dollars to a health savings account to be utilized for health related costs during retirement. These plans have strict IRS guidelines which dictate how any plan is designed. The City is in the process of reviewing vendors and proposals for establishing a plan. Once we have the final proposal we will disseminate the information to our members for their review and approval. No plan will be agreed to or implemented until our members have had time to review it and vote on it.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 15 December 2008

Over the past several weeks we have met with our attorneys and have drafted a counter proposal to address issues the City wants to incorporate into our next contract. Listed below are the major changes the City has proposed.

5 year contract
Inadequate wage & benefit package.
No increase in Watch Bids within District Law Enforcement (currently 5 per watch)
Changes to section 8.4 of the current contract.
Maintain sustained C.R. numbers for the entire career of the officer.
Inclusion of on-duty random alcohol testing
Mandatory alcohol and drug testing for any off-duty incident involving the discharge of a firearm.
Audio recording of all statements given by officers to I.P.R.A. and I.A.D.

We have presented our counter proposal to the City’s negotiating team. Our next scheduled contract negotiation session with the City is 18 December 2008.

It had been my hope to be able to present a contract to our membership for their review by the end of 2008; obviously this is not going to be the case in light of the City’s current position. While we have made substantial progress on reaching tentative agreements on several issues, especially maintaining the structure of our current health insurance benefit, we still need to resolve the above captioned issues before we can bring a contract back to our members for their consideration.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 22 October 2008

The last contract negotiation session with the City was on 11 September 08. At
that time the City rejected our latest proposal, which addressed bid positions and
economic issues. The City stood on their previous position citing the current economic
dilemma. The City has proposed the below captioned changes to our contract.

5 year contract
No increase in Watch Bids within District Law Enforcement (currently 5 per
watch)
Changes to section 8.4 of the current contract.
Maintain sustained C.R. numbers for the entire career of the officer.
Inclusion of on-duty random alcohol testing
Mandatory alcohol and drug testing for any off-duty incident involving the
discharge of a firearm.
Audio recording of all statements given by officers to I.P.R.A. and I.A.D.

We continue to meet with our attorneys and advisors in an effort to develop a
proposal that will result in a document that will address the City's concerns, while at the
same time protecting the interests of our members. In addition, we feel that the current
economic proposals by the City are short of being acceptable to our membership.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 30 August 2008

We last met with the City on 21 Aug 08. At this time we provided the City with a counter proposal to their last offer which attempted to address economic issues, discipline issues, biddable positions and other operational issues.

We are still hopeful in being able to present a contract to our members for review and ratification this year.

We continue to meet weekly with our labor attorneys and advisors. The next contract negotiation meeting with the City is scheduled for 11th September 08.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 03 July 2008

Contract negotiations continue to progress. We are currently discussing wage packages, duty availability and supervisor quarterly increases. We continue to press for increases in biddable positions. Several contract negotiation sessions have been spent on discussing maintenance of C.R. files, drug and alcohol testing, economic packages and clarifying ambiguous language that exists in the current contract.
We are still hopeful in being able to present a contract to our members for review and ratification this year.

We continue to meet weekly with our labor attorneys and advisors in developing our proposals/demands and reviewing the City's counter proposals. The next contract negotiation meeting with the City is scheduled for 16th July 08.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

Contract 2007-2011 Update: 13 May 2008

Since I last updated our members on the progress of the contract negotiations the following issues have been discussed at the bargaining table.

Length of the contract
Health Insurance
Discipline issues and the grievance process.
Random drug and alcohol testing (on-duty & off-duty involved incidents).
Bidding and Watch selection process; including expanding biddable units.
Economic issues (wage increases, duty availability, quarterly differential and uniform allowance).
Pension issues
Reduction from the current age of 60 at time of retirement for health insurance premiums to be paid by the employer.
Holidays, B.F.D.’s and P-Days
Promotional process
Detail pay and working out-of-grade.

The above captioned topics will be discussed in more detail at the next General Membership Meeting on 15 May 2008.

The next contract negotiation meeting with the City is scheduled for 5 June 08.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

Contract 2007-08 Update: 02 February 2008

The contract negotiating meeting which was scheduled for 29 Jan 08 was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts on the part of the City.

Since the negotiation meeting with the City was cancelled we utilized this session to further discuss our issues with our attorneys and develop an agenda to ensure that upcoming negotiations continue in a progressive manner. We hope now that Superintendent Jody Weis is officially at the helm of the Department that the City will be in a position to discuss operational issues.

The next contract meeting with the City is scheduled for 20 February 08.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

Contract 2007-08 Update: 24 January 2008

On 22 January 2008 we had our 7th formal contract meeting with the City since we began negotiations this past August.

Both sides of the bargaining table have presented various proposals and discussions are moving forward. Thus far the major focus has been on health insurance related issues, discipline / intervention procedures and current contract verbiage. Economic issues such as salary increases and benefit packages have yet to be presented and discussed.

As of this last meeting no formal agreements have been reached. Several of our members have inquired as to when we might expect the contract to be formalized and presented to the membership. At this point due to economic issues and ensuring that our member’s contractual rights are preserved it would be premature for me to speculate on a completion date. It is our position, as well as the City’s that it is in the best interest of all parties to reach an agreement in an expeditious manner.

The next contract meeting with the City is scheduled for 29 January 08. We have also scheduled two meetings for February.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

Contract 2007 Update: 08 November 07

Contract negotiations are moving forward. This past 10 Oct 07 was our third formal meeting with the City. Several more dates have already been schedule through November.

So far the City has made a presentation outlining health insurance issues which included provisions that we had previously proposed during past contract negotiations. We view this as a positive step in moving these negotiations forward.

Based upon input received from our members we have presented to the City several proposals and issues for discussion. As of the last meeting on 10 Oct 07 several issues are being discussed, but no agreements have been formalized

The next contract meeting with the City is scheduled for 14 Nov 07.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

Contract 2007 Update: 25 Sept 07

When we first met with the City on 16 Aug 2007 we presented them with a “Letter of Retroactivity” and requested that they formally agree to it by signing the document. The City refused, citing the PB & PA’s (Unit 156a – Sergeants) 2005 interest arbitration which the City believed created a position which was inconsistent with previously established past practices of both parties.

Our position was simple, we informed the City we would not proceed with these negotiations without securing these important safeguards for our members. On 10 Sept 07, the City agreed to sign a “Letter of Retroactivity.” This agreement was presented at the last contract negotiation meeting on 18 Sept 07.

The “Agreement” covers the following two important areas.

In the event negotiations do not conclude by June 30, 2007, the City agrees that economic increases, including but not limited to, wage, allowance, salary and pay increases agreed to by the parties shall be retroactive to July,1, 2007, unless the parties mutually agree to another date.
Any bargaining unit member who retires, dies, or voluntarily leaves the bargaining unit between the current contract expiration date and approval by the City Council of Chicago of any successor collective bargaining agreement between Unit 156 PB & PA and the City of Chicago, shall receive all increases in economic benefits including, but not limited to, wage, allowance, salary, pay and/or bonus to which he/she would have been entitled during the period the member was employed between date of contract expiration and leaving of the bargaining unit as described.

The next formal meeting for negotiations with the City of Chicago is tentatively scheduled for 28 Sept 07.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President – C.P.S.A

Update: 16 Sept 07

On 16 August 07, we met with representatives of the City of Chicago and the Police Department to formally commence contract negotiations. Prior to this, we had several meetings and discussions with our labor attorneys and advisors to discuss strategy and devise an action plan.

Our contract requests and plan is partly based upon the input that we have received thus far from our membership. I would like to thank all our members that have taken the time to provide some very thoughtful and constructive suggestions concerning the next contract. I encourage any member who has not yet provided their input to submit their concerns via the contract link on the Web site.

Some of the issues raised by our members are concerns over insurance rates, medical benefits, retirement benefits, wages, bids, overtime issues, discipline, residency, work schedules and enhanced benefits. At this time, we feel that it would be a disadvantage to our strategy to list specific details concerning issues that are being presented during the negotiation process.

I want to assure our members that your concerns are being heard and that our goal is to aggressively negotiate in the best interest of all our members. It is my intention to keep the membership informed of the progress of these ongoing negotiations and post updates and details when feasible. I believe this is the best way to keep our members informed and to provide for a process so that our members can continue to provide their suggestions and input on an ongoing basis.

The next formal meeting for negotiations with the City of Chicago is tentatively scheduled for 18 Sept 07.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President

Future Contract: 01 July 2007 through 30 June 2011

We will be holding a series of open informal sessions for any of our members who wish to stop by to discuss issues and concerns for the upcoming contract negotiations. These sessions will be scheduled during various times and D.O.G.’s. In addition, we will be sending out a survey seeking input from our members. This survey will also be available on-line at our Web site.

The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 23 May 2007 at the Association’s Offices located at 1616 W. Pershing Rd. from 1100hrs. – 1230hrs.

John Pallohusky
President