Bargaining Power
With the 2-percent cap no longer in effect, members
come to the PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar for the
latest lessons in contract negotiation expertise
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
■ PHOTOS BY ED CARATTINI JR.
Cramming branded the 32nd annu-
al NJ State PBA Collective Bargaining
Seminar in early February. Masses of
members crammed into row upon row
of the grand ballroom at Harrah’s At-
lantic City for an unprecedented learn-
ing experience.
Nearly a dozen representatives from
Paterson Local 1 and Paterson SOA
filled a section up front, just to the right
of the podium. Essex County Sheriff’s
Officers Local 183 took up a full row right in the middle of the
center section, and Montclair Local 53 had the row in front of
them. Franklin Township Local 154 and its SOA staked out a big
section for the entire three days, just in front of Trenton Local 11
and its SOA. Burlington County Corrections Officers Local 249
occupied its usual spot in the front row to the left, just across
the aisle from the Mercer County Corrections Officers Local 167
pack. And Atlantic County Sheriffs Department Local 243 had a
contingent in the house with a presence that offered a sign of the
times.
Cramming continued throughout the three days on topics in-
cluding regulatory issues, protecting yourself and your career,
the Fair Labor Standards Act, navigating interest arbitration,
worker’s compensation, retirement and disability pensions,
health benefits, law enforcement officers’ rights, the negotia-
tions process, PERC and mediation and grievance arbitrations.
Discussions about breakage, overtime, BANTA and ZOPA, in-
novative negotiating, developing leverage, doing your research,
finding the money, reducing the number of steps, not killing the
unborn and the expiration of the 2-percent cap invigorated sem-
inar attendees like never before.
36
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019
The 628 members crammed into the
Harrah’s ballroom – more than 100 more
than any previous collective bargaining
seminar – seemed to confirm the decree
that came when the 2-percent inter-
est arbitration cap expired at the end of
2017: Collective negotiations for Local
contracts that had been stymied since
the cap was first imposed in 2010 in is
alive and clicking. Bargaining for salary
increases, additional compensation and
benefits is back.
“Because of the laws that are changing,
because there’s no 2-percent cap anymore, it’s much nicer, much
easier to negotiate not having to be under that,” acknowledged
Brian Quigley, the vice president of Local 154 which, along with
its SOA, is working on a new contract. “So we’re here trying to
learn any new tricks that can help us out.”
Being back in the game gained momentum from upgrades to
the seminar such as sessions devoted to “Negotiating Outside
the Box,” a presentation from the Public Employees Relations
Committee (PERC) on “PERC and Mediation” and an interactive
panel tutoring grievance arbitration. As a result, attendees didn’t
risk any untimely trips to the bathroom. There was no dozing off.
The excitement, anticipation and morale boost about the bar-
gaining comeback underlined the seminar theme that “the rising
tide lifts all boats.”
“There is absolutely a lot of interest in more creative ways to
maximize the money,” observed Michael Freeman, the NJ State
PBA Labor Relations Coordinator who captained the changes to
the 2019 collective bargaining seminar. “We’re seeing most new
contracts come in above 2-percent increases, and we’re showing
that everything is a possibility.”
Back in the day