By Andrea Gregory

The majority of members of the Somerville Patrolmen’s Union are looking forward to a new contract. Last week, union members voted 60-15 in favor of the new contract. This week, the contract will be signed and take effect.

Union President Jack Leuchter had predicted the contract would pass before last week’s vote. He said he understands why the 15 union members wanted to turn down the offer, but most of the officers saw it as reasonable and overdue.

According to Leuchter, the reason 15 of the 85 members wanted to reject the offer had to do with the police reorganization, expected to take effect early next year. Leuchter also said the reorganization plan was one of the heated topics in this round of collective bargaining.

Now officers are preparing to face several changes.

“The big one is the shift changes. It’s going to be interesting,” said Leuchter. “The hardest thing for cops is to have a normal life because of the schedule.”

The reorganization will require many officers to plan their lives around new work schedules. For some, it might be a bit of a struggle, said Leuchter, adding he has heard officers in the department discussing daycare and other family-life hurdles that the police reorganization will cause with respect to new schedules.

“Unless you have a family of your own, you wouldn’t understand that. They set a schedule, and now they have to change all that. Without question that is a major reason guys voted no. They didn’t want to change their schedule,” he said. “I understand, but the city wants to try this new system.”

Leuchter said if the schedule changes prove to be a major hardship for the department, his union may revisit the subject in the next round of contract negotiations. As it stands, the new contract is already in its last year.

The union had been operating under an expired contract since June 30, 2004. The new contract is made up of two two-year contracts. Leuchter said it was important that the union receive a contract that stretches beyond the expired time span. He said the new contract has several compromises, but the length of the contract was important.

“It’s a balancing act,” he said.

‚ÄúStrictly in terms of dollars and cents, this is a solid and sensible deal for the patrol officers, the taxpayers and the city,‚Äù said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.  ‚ÄúBut it‚Äôs also a huge step forward in implementing comprehensive reform and adopting a city-wide community policing strategy. After years of negotiation, the department can now move forward on a plan for two permanently staffed police substations and a precinct model that gives commanders more flexibility in assigning officers. Under the new rules, officers will be assigned to the same neighborhoods for months at a time, becoming better attuned to the needs and concerns of the residents they serve.  These contracts bring Somerville‚Äôs police staffing structure into the 21st Century, and I applaud the Police Employees Association for becoming active partners in reform.‚Äù 

There will be 2 percent retroactive salary increases for both 2005 and 2006 fiscal years.  Four percent pay increases were agreed upon for FY07 and FY08.

One of the perks of the new contract will allow officers to split up their vacation time. The way it works is that an officer will be able to use a day here and there rather than taking an entire week off if he chooses. Leuchter said it is a real benefit to the officers when it comes to planning for family functions, mini-trips or long weekends. For officers who would like to use two weeks of their vacation time in splits, they must have used less than five sick days. Leuchter said this option is a quality-of-life issue for the officers.

“It’s a big advantage, but it didn’t cost the city any money,” he said. “We are always trying to make work conditions as good as possible.”

Another change for the union is the increase to healthcare cost. The Patrolmen’s Union will pay an additional 10 percent more for health insurance. As part of the new contract, union members will see their healthcare premiums go up to 20 percent by June 30, 2008. It is a 100 percent increase. Leuchter said the offer was put on the table by the union even though it was double what the city was negotiating for.

“We are the first union, to my knowledge, to take an increase of 10 percent to health insurance costs. I believe that is ultimately what the city wants to get,” said Leuchter. “I am surprised the city didn’t take advantage of it quicker.”

According to Leuchter, the union‚Äôs  offer to pay 10 percent more for health benefits was in exchange for a longer contract than what was being offered to and accepted by other city unions. He said he didn‚Äôt want to see his union get a contract only to have it expire right away.

Leuchter said he is looking forward to a break from the contract negotiations after the long battle to get the new deal finalized.

“When you have a negotiation that goes on for three years, there is going to be a lot of frustration,” he said. “We will try to get a quicker contract next year.”

Leuchter said the collective bargaining took longer than expected. He said issues such as the plans to reorganize the Somerville Police Department and the union’s push for a longer contract than what the city was first offering may have been contributed to the amount of time it took to reach an agreement. But, still, the union was unhappy with the way proceedings were going. The contract that was voted on last week was the first proposal worthy of taking back to the membership, said Leuchter. He added that there were several times when the city and the union seemed to be butting heads and contract talks just seemed not to be going anywhere.

During the negotiating process, the Patrolmen’s Union, teamed up the Local 76 Firemen’s Union to picket City Hall. It was the first time in about 25 years the union members had picked up signs and paraded on City Hall grounds to deliver a message to the administration.

Leuchter said he believes the picketing did speed up the process. He also credits Acting Police Chief Robert R. Bradley for keeping the lines of communication open between the administration and the union when times got tough.

According to Leuchter, Bradley, at times, served as the middleman between the two sides, working to smooth out the kinks that were keeping people from getting too far at the bargaining table.

“He did that several times. He was key to getting everyone back together,” said Leuchter.

In the city‚Äôs defense, the office of the mayor  said Curtatone has negotiated more contracts in a shorter time than any other administration in recent city history. Curtatone said he has worked to negotiate fair deals with the each collective bargaining unit. He also said keeping the contracts reasonable and for the taxpayers of the city also plays into contract negotiations. There is still one remaining union for Curtatone to reach an agreement with now that the Patrolmen‚Äôs Union has accepted an offer. However, he said every collective bargaining unit was unsigned when he came into the job of mayor.