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City of LA, police union reach tentative agreement
A file photo from former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa shows an LAPD graduation. The police union and the city of Los Angeles on Friday announced they had reached a tentative agreement for a new 4-year contract.
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Photo by Antonio R. Villaraigosa via Flickr Creative Commons
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After months of protracted negotiations, the union representing Los Angeles police officers has reached a tentative agreement with the city.
The announcement came in a joint statement from the two parties on Friday morning.
"We believe this proposed contract includes a number of terms that reconcile the impasse and is a positive outcome for both the City and the officers who protect it," Craig Lally, president of the L.A. Police Protective League, said in the statement.
The new 4-year contract would include an 8 percent cost of living adjustment from 2016 to 2018 (4 percent the first year and 2 percent each of the following), a 5 percent increase for health care, a $500 increase in the annual uniform allowance and changes to overtime rules, including an optional buy down, a boost in cash payments and an end to the practice of sending officers home in lieu of paying overtime, according to the statement.
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"Currently we feel very confident that what we are bringing before the officers next week will be ratified. I feel very optimistic that it is going to pass," Craig Lally, president of the L.A. Police Protective League, told KPCC.
"The challenges were, initially, we weren't getting any raises over a four-year period. There was an issue with the overtime issue because we weren't sure how much was actually going to be funded in the next coming years. Now we're sure that it will be funded more appropriately to pay the officers at their choice of time or cash compensation."
Lally said he was receiving good feedback.
"I've gotten several phone calls, I would say approximately about 20 so far, and it's all been been positive," Lally said. "It's been a long eight months we've been at the table and I just want to thank the mayor and the City Council President Weston for their leadership to get us a fair contract."
As the Los Angeles Times reports, union officials must now turn to the task of getting member approval:
In a message to officers sent moments after the deal was struck, union leaders said, “This has no doubt been a long time coming and we appreciate your patience as we’ve worked through this process….We are confident that if the terms agreed upon are ratified by our membership, it will boost internal morale and go a long way in the retention and recruitment of LAPD officers.”
Next Thursday, the union will hold the first of four meetings at which officers can cast their ballots on whether to accept the deal.
This story has been updated.
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