Feeling slighted by the city after bus drivers and mechanics got pay raises but police didnβt, the police officersβ union turned out at a Tucson City Council meeting Thursday to make demands.
The Tucson Police Officersβ Association wants a double merit pay increase next fiscal year, a $2 cost-of-living adjustment, and Council support for a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for police services.
βProperly fund the Tucson Police Department so we can properly serve the Tucson community,β TPOA board member Jobe Dickinson told the council during the call to the audience.
About 60 members of the association, wearing black, attended the meeting.
After the meeting, Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said he hopes the union will help form a ballot proposition for the half-cent tax and spread the word about why this funding is important. βIf weβre going to continue to be strong as a city, then we need to look at some kind of dedicated funding source,β he said.
Dickinson said TPOA canβt strike the way the Teamsters Local Union No. 104 did recently, but the police department is offering limited service due to staff cuts and high turnover.
Tucson Police currently has 900 sworn officers β about 100 fewer than the budget allows β and only 315 available to respond to 911 calls.
βDue to all the extra responsibilities that the officers have picked up since our civilian support staff was downsized in 2008, there are limited numbers of officers in patrol cars to answer the 911 calls for service,β Dickinson said.
TPOA President Roland Gutierrez criticized what he sees as a glaring difference in the way City Council members handled the Teamsters strike versus the negotiations with TPOA.
βNot once during our recent contract negotiations did I see a Council member rally in front of headquarters with a microphone showing support for police,β he said. βNot once did I hear a Council member telling staff to do whatever it takes to get a deal done.β
The Teamsters received pay raises after a 42-day strike that resulted in limited bus service.
Meanwhile, police officers are leaving Tucson for departments that offer better pay and benefits, Gutierrez said.
Star research showed TPD ranked 10th out of 14 law enforcement agencies in the state in median salary last year.
βA 5 percent increase in the last eight years does not come close to covering the wages lost due to furloughs, increasing pension contributions and rising health-care costs,β Gutierrez said. βDonβt get me wrong. None of us pin the badge on our chest for pay, but we do try to support our families in doing so.β
Due to a city budget crisis caused in part by skyrocketing public-safety pension costs, the city hasnβt raised pay for police employees or other city staff. This yearβs negotiations between the city and TPOA were strained when the city said it couldnβt afford an increase in benefits for retirees.
Negotiations with the blue-collar workersβ union, AFSCME, were also uneasy, with that union asking a federal mediator to step in to solve an impasse in negotiations last month.
The City Council approved a new, two-year contract with AFSCME on Thursday that gave workers in that bargaining unit an increase in a meal allowance for 12-hour shifts and bonus pay for not using sick leave. The changes will cost the city about $50,000, according to a city memo.
