Unions, Chandler reach tentative deal

Chandler police officers and nearly 700 other employees would take a small pay cut under a new labor agreement the City Council was expected to approve Thursday night.

City management and three unions - the Chandler Service Employees International Union, the Chandler Law Enforcement Association and the local International Association of Firefighters - have been at loggerheads over two of management's demands. Had the two sides not reached an agreement via federal mediation by Thursday, the City Council would have imposed a solution.

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Under the proposed agreements, 263 officers in the police union would take a 0.85percent pay decrease. Officers' average salary range is about $63,000 to $74,000.

However, union members would receive a $173,000 credit from the city to divide among themselves. The city already had the credit in its budget, said Jane Poston, city spokeswoman.

Vacation accrual for officers with more than 20 years of service in Chandler would increase from 6.5 to 7.4 hours per pay period.

Next year's merit increase still would be added to officers' base pay to advance them through their pay grade, Poston said. The three unions had rejected management's demand that next year's merit pay be replaced with a one-time, 5 percent payment that would not be added to base pay.

Poston said the pay cuts would offset the continued merit increases.

The disagreement over merit pay, along with the unions' refusal to accede to management's request for the ability to renegotiate labor contracts in times of a fiscal crisis, led to an impasse in negotiations that forced the City Council to intervene this month. The council requested a federal mediator to help break the impasse by June 25. The existing contracts with the unions expire on June30.

Regular merit pay increases for the SEIU and firefighters' unions will continue, as well. The 681-member SEIU, with an average salary range of about $41,000 to $51,000, would see a 0.95percent decrease in pay. Merit increases for employees who have topped out on the pay scale would be frozen for the immediate future. But the union would receive a $391,000 credit to divide equally among its members.

The 189-member firefighters union, with an average salary range of about $53,000 to $69,000, would have holiday pay slightly reduced and would receive a $93,000 credit to distribute.

The remaining 537 nonunion city employees, which account for 31 percent of the city's work force, would receive a 5 percent payment, but it would not be added to base pay. That includes 120 managers, directors, assistant directors, police lieutenants, assistant police chiefs, police commanders, fire battalion chiefs and assistant chiefs. It also applies to the 48-member police sergeants' union, which has two years left on its contract.