City, Police Union Negotiations Still Stalled

Tuesday was an anniversary--of sorts--for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The contract between the city and the union representing its 7,000 police officers expired one year ago, and little progress has been made toward a new one. Negotiators declared an impasse last January and called in a federal mediator.

The major problem seems to be the city’s demand for a change in the department’s overtime pay policy--a move that union officials say would cost some of their members thousands of dollars a year.

At present, police get time-and-a-half for every hour over eight per day. Under the city’s proposal, officers would first have to work 171 hours in a 28-day pay period before becoming eligible for time-and-a-half.

City analyst Gordon Lawler expressed confidence that a new contract would be ironed out soon, noting that Los Angeles firefighters accepted a similar rollback last year. But Los Angeles Police Protective League Vice President David Baca Jr. was not so sure.

“(The city) doesn’t look like they’re going to budge on the overtime issue,” Baca said, “and we’re not about to accept it.”