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MSP Contract Shot Down

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Posted by: SinePari

Substantial raise offered to State Police

Wages may climb 19% by 2008

By Raphael Lewis, Globe Staff | December 14, 2005

After three years of hardball negotiations with other unions representing public employees, Governor Mitt Romney's administration has offered the State Police a contract that would boost troopers' pay up to 19 percent by January 2008, the most generous offer to any union by the Republican governor.

The offer, extended to the only labor organization that endorsed Romney in 2002, followed two years of bitter negotiations.

Some troopers had even discussed ways of harassing Romney as he might run for president.

Rank-and-file troopers, who were reported to have been upset by Romney's demands for concessions included in the offer, narrowly rejected the proposal two weeks ago.

But top union officials, who endorsed the offer on Nov. 8, expect to conduct another vote on the proposal in a few weeks.

The offer, which would cover Jan. 1, 2004, to Dec. 31, 2008, calls for an average 3.8-percent annual pay increase for the approximately 1,900 state troopers who are now on the force, according to a State Police Association of Massachusetts memorandum that was made available to the Globe.

That figure amounted to roughly twice the annual pay increases that six other labor organizations got from the Romney administration. The troopers' pay would jump as much as 19 percent, because the offer is retroactive.

Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney's communications director, defended the offer.

''We were willing to provide more money in exchange for meaningful management reforms," Fehrnstrom said. ''We are disappointed that the union turned down a fair but generous offer.

''We encourage the union to reconsider," Fehrnstrom said. ''Our position is it would be bad precedent to reopen negotiations that have been concluded, and we just can't do that."

Currently, State Police employees make an average of $95,000 annually. The new contract could mean an raise of roughly $20,000 a year by Jan. 1, 2008, for the average trooper, although the increase could be lower because the proposal also calls for a new, lower ceiling on weekly hours.

According to the police association memorandum, Romney offered to increase pay for troopers by 5.5 percent on July 1, 2005, by 3.5 percent on Jan. 1, 2006, and then by 3.75 on Jan. 1 in 2007 and 2008.

State Police employees would also be able to pick up a one-time 2.5 percent pay hike if they pass a physical fitness test for troopers on the job.

Several union members, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the contract offer was rejected because of dissension over several management concessions Romney is seeking in return for the pay increases.

The proposed concessions include a cap on the maximum number of hours troopers can put in each week at 85, rather than the current 99.5. That would put a crimp in the paychecks of troopers who rely on overtime and detail work to boost their pay.

It would also halve sick leave from 60 days to 30 days a year, and would remove as many as 47 troopers from teaching safety classes and testing license applicants at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, work that several administrations have sought to give to civilians to save costs.

In addition to requiring a fitness test for troopers, it would require more stringent training requirements for those troopers who are stationed at Logan International Airport.

The State Police union, the State Police Association of Massachusetts, endorsed Romney in 2002, but the governor has been at odds with public employees' unions since he took office.

Along with fighting the power of teachers' unions in public schools, he has sought to limit the use of paycheck withdrawals for union political activity, and he fought retroactive pay increases for higher education employees. In 2004, Romney intervened in the city of Boston's dispute with its police union, by naming a new chairman of a state labor panel to force a contract settlement before the Democratic National Convention took place in July 2004.

To date, the Romney administration has negotiated six contracts that gave employees annual increases of 2 percent to 2.5 percent over the span of those pacts.

Barry Ingber, a spokesman for Service Employees International Union Local 509, which represents about 8,000 mental health workers who got a 2 percent pay increase in their contract, said he was happy for the State Police.

He said he only wishes that other labor organizations might see the same rate of pay increases.

''It's great that the administration is recognizing the value of these workers, and what we would like is for them to treat all state workers with the same respect," Ingber said.

Dan Payne, a Democratic media consultant, attributed a political motive to Romney's contract offer.

Payne recalled thatin 1978, State Police picketed and harangued the governor at the time, Michael S. Dukakis, at almost every event stop during his reelection campaign, after months of ugly negotiations; it was a major factor in his loss to Edward J. King in the Democratic primary.

In 1988, the Boston police union, the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, endorsed the Republican presidential candidate, George H.W. Bush, over Dukakis. This caused a major embarrassment for the home-state Democrat.

''Politically, a governor running for president doesn't need a police union dogging him," Payne said.

''Right or wrong," Payne added, ''police are seen by the public as experts on crime, so if they're against you, you're perceived to be soft on crime."

Fehrnstrom replied: ''Politics didn't even enter the picture."

The State Police Association has traditionally backed Republicans for president, including in 2004, when Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts was running.

This year, however, the union president, John Coflesky, said the talks had so embittered him that the union was almost certain to choose against endorsing Romney again. Coflesky declined to discuss the offer yesterday.

This year, the State Police union bought billboards on the roadways Romney uses to commute to and from the State House, urging the governor to reopen negotiations, after roughly 18 months of near-stalemate. At the time, the governor's top negotiator was Finance Secretary Eric A. Kriss, a budget hawk who has left the administration. Talks began again after Kriss's successor, Thomas Trimarco, took office.

© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.




Posted by: Wolfman

Quote:
Currently, State Police employees make an average of $95,000 annually.




Posted by: j809

Quote:
The proposed concessions include a cap on the maximum number of hours troopers can put in each week at 85, rather than the current 99.5. That would put a crimp in the paychecks of troopers who rely on overtime and detail work to boost their pay.



Posted by: no$.10

"Currently, State Police employees make an average of $95,000 annually"

Some ex-wife somewhere is waving this article around and screaming into the telephone.




Posted by: bbelichick

Quote:
Originally Posted by SinePari
Currently, State Police employees make an average of $95,000 annually. The new contract could mean an raise of roughly $20,000 a year by Jan. 1, 2008, for the average trooper, although the increase could be lower because the proposal also calls for a new, lower ceiling on weekly hours.


Weird math. The only people that would see a $20,000 increase would be likely Capts, Majors, LT Colonels and the Colonel. Base pay for a Top Step Trooper with no Quinn is $60,000. That is also where they get the "average State Police EMPLOYEE" making $95,000. Notice they don't say "Trooper". Hell, they probably included the Lawyers at MSP legal to booost their figures.

Quote:
It would also halve sick leave from 60 days to 30 days a year
Utter lie. MSP gets 15 days a year. This is a gross distortion of the facts involving family leave granted to all state employees.


Notice the timing of this Media Blitz...Mitt probably wants to get a deal done before he starts on the campaign trail.



Posted by: badogg88

Hahaha that made me laugh really hard! I love the media! If they're making $95,000 a year on average, why isn't my boyfriend seeing any of that!


Posted by: MSP75

Mitt is getting desperate. The only union to support him didn't roll over for him. What did he expect after sticking a knife in the troopers' back during contract negotiations? What did he expect sending Darth Flynn out to dismantle the MSP?
He has bigger plans, but there are plenty of corporate employees in other states that are still pissed of at him and a large union in the Bay State that can show Mitt can't be trusted. He got a pass here, but the national media will be all over a Republican MItt Romney. He still has a year to make things right.


Posted by: Pvt. Cowboy

Quote:
Originally Posted by MSP75
What did he expect sending Darth Flynn out to dismantle the MSP?



Posted by: HOTLUNCH

So, for the uninitiated, what parts of the proposal does the Union object to?


Posted by: dcs2244

I do not believe that the hard money was an issue...except to the young troopers who are usually looking at the bottom line (money), and not the "big picture" (you have to retire sometime...).

Once again "field" was not included: if BIS gets money for "on-call", why not field on-call? This merely illustrates what the union and the admin think of "skanky horse troopers".

The issue of family leave was a non-issue: A union guy told me that 'only' two troopers had availed themselves of this particular benefit. To me, any trooper who needed to use this leave for a sick spouse/child/parent...even just one trooper...then the benefit was worth it. No one was abusing the benefit, the job was not paying out for a bunch of incidents, therefore there is no reason to throw this away. NO, I do not have a wife or children.

I am single, and even with the MA Quinn and OT, I do not make 95K.

Benefits negotiated accrued to the "E board" and the MTA...not the rank-and-file troopers/sergeants.

The union weasels have ready answers, but they fall apart upon close scrutiny...I guess I'm just not progressive or political enough...

I wonder how many Harvard law degrees were offered to the "right' people? Enquiring minds want to know...


Posted by: soxrock75

Typical Globe article, it doesn't explain that of that $95,000 "Average Salary", probably half of it is details and OT. With the amount of hours put in to average that money, it's almost like working 2 full time jobs.


Posted by: futureMSP

I wonder how many Troops actually work the 99.5 hours and are going to be upset that it is now limited to 85. That is a lot of hours per week; it would be a hard pace to keep up. I am sure the Globe knows exactly how many people work the 99.5 hours and totally rely on that many hours. The Globe knows all!

I am sure the Troops on just a year or so are probably scratching their heads wondering where their share of the 95k went; just like most of the other Troops. That article is a joke.


Posted by: Killjoy

I have never made 95,000 dollars in my entire career....even with Quinn, OT and details...nor have any of the Troopers in my unit....where does the Globe dig up this crap?


Posted by: Delta784

Quote:
Originally Posted by Killjoy
I have never made 95,000 dollars in my entire career....even with Quinn, OT and details...nor have any of the Troopers in my unit....where does the Globe dig up this crap?
The MSP and my PD have very similar salaries, and I broke 90K last year without breaking much of a sweat. Believe me, I'm no detail hound.

What was the main sticking point of the proposed contract, money or language?


Posted by: no$.10

[quote=Delta784] ...and I broke 90K last year without breaking much of a sweat. "

OMG-where is that department? Do the take laterals? Can I come over today?


Posted by: j809

Quincy doesn't take laterals. OOps, scratch that, they did have one but went back after the Waterworks incident.


Posted by: Crvtte65

Quote:
Originally Posted by no$.10
"Currently, State Police employees make an average of $95,000 annually"

Some ex-wife somewhere is waving this article around and screaming into the telephone.
Thats funny Nos!

I remember seeing something back in 2002 that reported some Trooper's pay because of all the details for security in tunnels etc after WTC. Had about 10 people that broke $100,000 in a year, the top person doing I think close to $125,000 as a Sgt.


Posted by: IceBreaker

Quote:
Originally Posted by Crvtte65
Thats funny Nos!

I remember seeing something back in 2002 that reported some Trooper's pay because of all the details for security in tunnels etc after WTC. Had about 10 people that broke $100,000 in a year, the top person doing I think close to $125,000 as a Sgt.
What would you say the average pay really is?? Newbie vs Brass??


Posted by: Pvt. Cowboy

Quote:
Originally Posted by IceBreaker
What would you say the average pay really is?? Newbie vs Brass??
Ya know, I was just thinking the same thing. We all know how much a trainee makes, as well as an entry level Trooper all the way up to Trooper First Class step 7, thanks to the MSP website... but it reality, what can one expect to make as a Trooper?

I met a Sergeant out of C Troop, who's been on the job for 20+ years. With Quinn, he said his base is 84,000. I had always thought that Troopers with some time on the job made about 100,000 with details, Quinn, and court time.

Thanks to those who can shed some light on this...


Posted by: Wolfman

I don't think there's any guarantee of overtime - so I guess all one can expect to make is the posted salary unless you receive an educational incentive.

The news article is amusing to say the least. Using figures that include overtime and Quinn $$ will by its very nature skew the results. Logic dictates that as new classes graduate, the amount of available overtime drops since the personnel shortages are no longer as prevalent and opportunities such as paid details are spread thinner among the workers. The only way to objectively and fairly look at pay rates is to look at the base salary. I'm sure the media figures were based on ALL employees, sworn, civilian, from Colonel on down to Clerk. I would venture to guess that these figures did not include the earnings of the last two classes - factor in another 350 employees at the bottom of the pay scale and that 95K will go south a bit.

Since the article (ostensibly) pertained to the union contract, why not take the average base salary of just the union members and publish THAT average? I'll tell you why - it wouldn't create controversy - and it's not about reporting news, it's about selling papers.

Ultimately it's an hourly wage, so those who make the high numbers are out there putting in the time - at work and away from home. Also, there are a good many who do not to work the OT or details. By cutting base pay because "some" are working a lot does a disservice to those who choose not to spend extra time away from their homes and families.


Posted by: frapmpd24

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfman
I don't think there's any guarantee of overtime - so I guess all one can expect to make is the posted salary unless you receive an educational incentive.
No guarantee of OT, but a few stops late in the shift being proactive certainly increase those odds . It always breaks my heart to get a late arrest and have to do the booking and well written report.


Posted by: Mrtracie

Quote:
Originally Posted by frapmpd24
No guarantee of OT, but a few stops late in the shift being proactive certainly increase those odds . It always breaks my heart to get a late arrest and have to do the booking and well written report.
I kills most locals that MSP can turn down such a huge raises (19%+) when we are being offered nothing but give backs and 0% raises


Posted by: Dane

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrtracie
I kills most locals that MSP can turn down such a huge raises (19%+) when we are being offered nothing but give backs and 0% raises
It merely proves that SPAM members stand on their principles and can't be goaded into compromising them with the promise of a fatter paycheck. In a majority vote, these guys stood strong and refused to sell out fellow union members. Just goes to show that they're not "all about the money."


Posted by: Delta784

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dane
It merely proves that SPAM members stand on their principles and can't be goaded into compromising them with the promise of a fatter paycheck. In a majority vote, these guys stood strong and refused to sell out fellow union members. Just goes to show that they're not "all about the money."
The vote was so close, I don't think I'd be trumpeting "union solidarity" on this one. It sounds like SPAM is very divided on the issue.


Posted by: dcs2244

The money wasn't an issue for thinking people. It was the reduction of non-taxable benefits and the rape of future troopers that was the issue. The division of the troopers was not accomplished directly by the command staff...well, never mind.

Let's see what the new union people do.


Posted by: lawdog671

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrtracie
I kills most locals that MSP can turn down such a huge raises (19%+) when we are being offered nothing but give backs and 0% raises
If you took the time to look at the contract offer before commenting youd see that 19% wasnt what the raise would have been. Romney's been pretty good at getting everyone to watch the left hand while the right takes it all away. Besides in any business deal you accept the first offer you get? That attitude would have cost me $25,000 when I sold my house.




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