Discussion:
The City of Shakopee has a long history of supporting its union employees.
The City Council has pledged to pay its employees at the mid-point of our comparable cities, has ensured employees have up-to-date, and well-maintained equipment, and that employees are well-trained and cared for.
The negotiations with the both the Police Officers and Sergeants unions were productive, professional and above board. The employees of the Law Enforcement Labor Services, Inc. as the bargaining agents epitomized what such individuals should be - realistic, caring for their clients, even-keeled and willing to discuss hard issues with no animosity or game playing. We did not agree on everything, but consistently expressed mutual respect as we worked through the issues. This was an example of how effective and impactful bargaining should take place - adults sitting around the table attempting to find a solution we all could live with while keeping the importance of what we discussed at the forefront. This greatly impacted what they were able to deliver to their clients. The negotiation team thanks the bargaining agents and union stewards for their work on behalf of our police officers and sergeants.
Police Officers Contract
1) Language - The tentative agreement has some clean-up on language and several changes in addition to wages. It removed language concerning longevity as it no longer pertains to the union members. It added Juneteenth as a recognized holiday, cleared up some language on buy backs for unused holiday time, and added several holidays for increased contractual overtime pay. In addition, sick leave and bereavement leave language was cleaned up, and senior officer pay changed to kick in at one (1) hour as opposed to two (2). All incentives were made available at hire.
2) Wages - A 3% Cost of Living increase (COLA) was instituted for all 3 years of the contract. In addition, Market Rate Adjustments (MRAs) were made at various steps to ensure the mid-point of our comparable cities was met. Steps were decreased to seven from nine also in line with comparable cities.
Sergeants Contract
1) Language - The tentative agreement has some clean-up on language and several changes in addition to wages. It removed language concerning longevity as it no longer pertains to the union members. It added Juneteenth as a recognized holiday, cleared up some language on buy backs for unused holiday time, and added several holidays for increased contractual overtime pay. In addition, sick leave and bereavement leave language was cleaned up, and special duty pay adjusted to an hourly basis and added Field Training Officers. All incentives were made available at hire.
2) Wages - A 3% COLA was instituted for all 3 years of the contract. In addition, MRAs were made at various steps to ensure the mid-point of our comparable cities was met.