City, Police Sergeants Union Reach Tentative Contract Agreement
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The NYPD's sergeants union has reached a tentative contract agreement with the city.
It authorizes 11 percent raises over the next seven years.
"Sergeants risk their lives every single day to keep the city safe, and this agreement recognizes and honors the difficult and dangerous work they do day in and day out," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.
The agreement follows the pattern set by the teachers union, but, like other uniformed unions, it contains an additional 1 percent raise in its first year.
"This is a city that believes fundamentally in the value of hard work. No one exemplifies that more than our sergeants," de Blasio said during a press conference Thursday afternoon. "They have an exceedingly difficult job that unfortunately for years they had to do that job without a contract."
The deal comes after months of friction between the union and de Blasio.
The Sergeants Benevolent Association's head, Ed Mullins, called the mayor "a total nincompoop'' in mid-December and said de Blasio needed "to humble himself.''
"I want to speak to that first. I've been called a lot worse," de Blasio joked Thursday of the "nincompoop" line.
The rift was caused by de Blasio's handling of anti-NYPD protests that swept the city after a grand jury declined to indict a police officer for Eric Garner's death.
Mullins released a statement about the deal saying, "I am grateful we have been able to reach a contract agreement. As a result of the last administration, NYPD Sergeants have been working with no contract agreement for nearly three and half years. Mayor de Blasio has been understanding and receptive to the concerns and needs of these NYPD Sergeants, and I thank him for his time and effort in helping to reach this agreement."
Mullins appeared with de Blasio at the afternoon news conference to announce the deal. When asked if this was a "kiss-and-make-up session," de Blasio put his arm around Mullins and said with a laugh, "That will be good enough."
As WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported, Mullins said he and the mayor had a private conversation, and while some differences arose, they did agree on one thing: "The one thing we agree on the most is the city of New York, which I believe is the capital of the world, should not crumble. And it should not crumble because of two people stomping their feet on the ground," he said.
Now, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association is the only police union not to have a new contract.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)