2016-2017 NJ State PBA Collective Bargaining Annual Report
We are prepared to meet collective bargaining challenges
GEORGE F . O ’ BRIEN
LABOR RELATIONS
We who serve on the Collective Bargaining Committee hope that everyone had an enjoyable summer and a productive year .
As we look forward to Fiscal Year 2017-18 and the challenges it will bring , we can take comfort in the fact that we are well prepared to meet those challenges with knowledge and the ability to move forward .
As for Fiscal Year 2016-17 ending September 2017 , the NJ State PBA received a record number of 312 collective bargaining agreements . This represents a 55-percent increase over the previous fiscal year . But , before we can pat ourselves on the back , it should be noted that , at the direction of the collective bargaining committee , fully one-third of those 312 agreements were downloaded from the PERC website by Mary Ann Drost .
It is very important for state delegates from each Local to submit their newly negotiated collective bargaining agreements to the State PBA , not only for the rank-and-file members , but also for the SOAs as well . When submitting a new contract , it is essential to your members to submit a signed copy of the agreement . Inasmuch as the PBA maintains each agreement on file for future use , for a retiree or current member doing research or when a governing body decides to alter retirees ’ benefits , a signed contract always gives the advocate the ability to make a stronger argument .
As is reported at each New Delegates training , it is the responsibility of the state delegate for both rank-and-file Locals and SOAs to submit collective bargaining agreements , pursuant to Article VII , Section 1 , sub-section c . of the State PBA Constitution and By-Laws . We are improving and getting better , but we still have a ways to go at getting each Local ’ s contract into the state office .
Because the State PBA has been collecting contracts since 1985 , we now have accumulated thousands upon thousands of agreements . These contracts are in storage in the basement . As you might imagine , it requires several filing cabinets to store that many documents . The PBA is currently in the process of acquiring new equipment to convert each of these agreements to a PDF file and enter them into a new database . This will free up important space downstairs , preserve the contracts from the mishaps that befall paper documents , preserve the current condition of the collective bargaining agreements and make them more efficiently retrievable . We are looking forward to starting this project by the end of this year .
I would like to mention that the State PBA Collective Bargaining Committee is actively collecting data on each of the contracts that reflect a successfully negotiated reduction of health benefits cost sharing . To date , the PBA is aware of 15 Locals that have reduced their premium share on their health insurance payments .
16 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ OCTOBER 2017
Here is some additional data about cost-sharing :
• Six Locals have reduced cost sharing to 1.5 percent .
• One Local has reduced cost sharing to 1.5 percent ( upon retirement ).
• One Local has reduced cost sharing to 10 percent .
• One Local has reduced cost sharing to 17.5 percent .
• Two Locals have reduced cost sharing to 20 percent .
• One Local has reduced cost sharing to 26 percent .
• One Local has reduced cost sharing to 26.25 percent .
• One Local has reduced cost sharing to 30 percent .
• One Local has reduced the variable ascending percentage to 35 percent .
If anyone would like further information , please contact me at the state office . We are constantly updating data which also applies to the wage portions of the collective bargaining spreadsheets .
As in the past , the wages are separated into base salary and salary with longevity . These groupings are to be found in separate labeled sections . In instances where a change has taken place in the wage guide – i . e . the number of steps to maximum wage , changes in the longevity benefit , such as moving from a percentage increase to a fixed dollar amount or longevity being removed or lowered by increasing the number of years to attain the next step – this information can be found in the comments section at the back of the particular section being reviewed .
All this information is available to Locals at no cost . To receive this data , the requesting Local should have its collective bargaining agreement on file with the State PBA .
For Fiscal Year 2016-17 , this office has distributed 9,845 pages of data to 106 Locals . This represents a 37-percent increase in data supplied to Locals over the previous year .
The highest base wage for 2017 is in a Bergen County jurisdiction , while the lowest base wage jurisdiction is in Cumberland County . The average wage increase in 2017 is 2.5 percent per annum based upon 189 agreements on file .
As a member of the Police and Fire Public Interest Arbitration Impact Task Force , I received the most recent report made to the governor and state legislature on April 19 , 2016 . The following is a result of that report :
• P . L . 2010 , c . 105 established strict deadlines for the issuance of interest arbitration awards .
• P . L . 2014 c . 11 extended the deadlines for an arbitrator ’ s award from 45 days to 90 days .
• Interest Arbitration Petitions filed : 9
• Interest Arbitration Closed Dockets : 22
• Interest Arbitration Awards Issued : 6
• Interest Arbitration Voluntary Settlements : 9
• Interest Arbitration Appeals Filed : 3
• Impasse Filings Police : 4
• Impasse Filings Fire : 3
• Fact Finding Police : 0
• Fact Finding Fire : 1