Response Scenarios
The 32nd annual NJ State PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar was the most well-attended ever.
The 628 members who came to Harrah’s in Atlantic City March 5-7 experienced presentations from
experts in labor law, labor relations and matters related to negotiating collective bargaining
agreements. Some of the PBA Local leaders who were there responded to questions about why
they attended, the best ideas presented and how it will help their fellow members.
Why did you want to attend the
Collective Bargaining Seminar?
Matthew Dunn, Burlington County Corrections Officers Local
249 SOA member: I just wanted to get myself a little more up
on exactly what’s going down at these contract negotiations, in-
stead of just sitting back and waiting for it to come down.
Bob O’Hare, Hamilton Township Local 66 SOA President: Well,
you know the 2-percent cap has expired, so what are our options
going forward? I’m just trying to reeducate myself on the way we
used to negotiate contracts, because I’ve attended just about all
of them when we were dealing with the hard cap.
Shakira Verdejo, Irvington Local 29 member: To learn more,
to get more involved, to get more in depth with the changes in
state policies and practices.
Ryan DeGraw, New Brunswick Local 23 Secretary: I’m probably
going to be part of the negotiations team in the future, so I’m
trying to get myself a good base to start with being involved in
that process.
What have you learned about what it takes to
negotiate a contract in 2019?
Tim Murphy, Atlantic County Sheriffs Local 243: You try to
come up with different ways because you can’t just take, you got
to give. You have to work with the county, and it’s hard because
you get down to fewer and fewer things that you have to give up
or can give up.
Vincent Russo, Montclair Local 53 Vice President: I think it’s
multifaceted. Obviously, it’s definitely compensation. It all leads
down to economics at this point, the amount of compensation
and how we can get there. How the town can save, how we can
work it all out and how we can benefit from it.
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019
Lorenzo Passano, Wayne Local 136 State Delegate: One thing
you have to do is to include everybody. You have to make as
many guys happy as you can, not just a select few. Of course
there’s money to be found. And then the most important thing is
you don’t want to make enemies with the community. You’re not
looking to bleed people dry, you know what I mean? They end
up hating you, and technically, you’re working for them. What
do they say? The high tide raises all boats.
Alex Cruz, Paterson Local 1 President: You might think that you
know everything, but strategies always change. You need that lit-
tle extra outside-the-box thinking that another Local might have
about how to protect the members’ rights. When you get into
the trenches, you want to think, “What can we come out of this
meeting with that can benefit the city and our members?” We