Workforce Planning - Recruitment and Selection - Qn - 3 Pages by 12th April

Exhibit 4: Memo on Police Officers’ Reaction to Planned Cuts in Overtime Pay

To: Maria Valdez, City Police Commissioner

From: Officer Isaac Haines, Steward, Local 102 of the United Federation of Police Officers (police officers’ union)

Date: July 2, 2014

Re: Planned Cuts in Police Officers’ Overtime

Status: Under Consideration

I am writing on behalf of the members of Local 102 of the United Federation of Police Officers to report our deep disapproval of and concern with the mayor’s planned cut in overtime for our members. For several years, the city’s officers have been called upon to work long shifts and put in extra hours due to escalating crime and the mayor’s newly-imposed efforts to step up patrols in high-crime areas. Loyal officers have sacrificed personal time with their families to ensure the public’s safety and comply with the mayor’s directives. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the city’s contract with the United Federation of Police Officers, all non-exempt officers working over 40 hours per week must be paid at a rate of 1.5 times their current hourly wage. The overtime pay earned by these officers was legal and necessary given the city’s needs and the mayor’s directives.

We have now learned that, due to public disclosure of the salaries earned by a few officers, the mayor has ordered that 25 new police officers be hired and overtime hours be drastically reduced. This decision was made arbitrarily without consulting the officers or their union representatives. We believe that this move will place the public at risk by placing rookie officers in place of experienced officers, lower the morale of experienced officers, and cause financial hardship for experienced officers and their families. Due to the lack of new patrol officers, as well as ongoing retirements and transfers from the force, some officers work double shifts on a regular basis with no end in sight. If some officers have chosen to use the extra pay earned to improve living conditions for themselves or their families, it seems a reasonable exchange for the risk and the extra hours spent on patrol. At a recent press conference, the mayor was overheard to comment, “If the city police officers can’t balance their household budgets once they’re off the gravy train, that’s their problem.” This position reflects a lack of understanding and appreciation for the officers’ loyalty and hard work.

If city management refuses to work with our union to develop a plan that will gradually reduce workload and overtime, unfortunate consequences could occur. While official strikes require court permission, unofficial actions such as work slowdowns, “sick outs” (officers call in sick en masse on specified days), high absenteeism, issuing warnings for traffic violations rather than tickets, and refusal to accept any overtime work are at the officers’ discretion. Experienced officers must also train rookie police officers for one year without additional pay after the latter’s graduation from the academy—I cannot guarantee the current officer’s willingness to accomplish this unpaid task or the quality of said training under the present circumstances. Finally, I cannot rule out unauthorized, illegal actions such as wildcat strikes or sit-down strikes, although these are unlikely. These problems can be avoided completely if city management is willing to rethink its position on impending cuts in overtime and meets with union representatives to arrive at a mutually agreeable compromise.