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David Forystek wasn't surprised and disappointed, he was stunned, when an arbitrator recently ruled that he and his fellow police officers must accept a four-year pay freeze. The President of the Flint Police Officers Association (FPOA) - which, like MAP, is affiliated with the Michigan Association of Police Organizations - was "shocked" by the decision. "The city squandered its funds, manipulated the numbers and the arbitrator went along with it," he declared. Flint officers had requested a 3 percent a year pay increase, retroactive to July 1, 1998. That arrangement would have cost the city, which is mired in a $40.3 million debt, about $2.5 million. The rule covers a contract that expired June 30 and officers will be required to work under its provisions while bargainers try to reach an agreement on the next contract. It should be pointed out that state law required the arbitrator to consider Flint's financial situation when mulling his decision. However, FPOA officials were optimistic because the arbitrator also had to take into account how the city's wage scale compares to other police agencies. The union expected the "worst case" to be a refusal of retroactive pay. Forystek, who described the decision as "...the worst ruling in Act 312 history," said that "to get nothing is unprecedented. It's mind-boggling." Other officers who heard of the ruling while attending roll call were equally upset. "This is depressing," said Officer Houston Tipton. "We did what we had to do, go out every day on the street and bust our...We didn't do anything with the city funds, yet we're penalized. I can't afford to leave; I have children to raise." FPOA Vice President Terry Neeley expressed anger, as well as disappointment. "Officers worked for four years without a pay raise and then the state says you did that for nothing! We stayed, did our job and then got kicked in the..." "I can't believe it," he exclaimed. "Officers worked for four years without a pay raise and then the state says you did that for nothing! We stayed, did our job and then got kicked in the..." Flint officers' salaries are several thousand dollars a year lower than those paid in comparable agencies. Citing no pay hikes since 1998, the union argued that a 3 percent annual increase was needed just to keep pace with the cost-of-living index. The 1998 raise amounted to 1.25 percent, bringing a first-year officer to $29,800 and officers with at least 21 years of experience to $46,300." "Some officers will be seeing less money in their next paycheck," Forystek said. "We also lost on health benefits and some will have to pay more for their premiums." |
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