New SPD union agreement with the city is 75% complete

With an Oct. 1 deadline weeks away, negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement between the city of Sarasota and the International Union of Police Associations Local 6045, which represents Sarasota police officers, sergeants and criminalists, are about 75% complete.

That’s the assessment of local union chapter president Eric Urbain, who said the primary sticking points for the next three-year deal are an approximately $5,000 gap in starting pay and a demand for legal representation for members in cases of discrimination.

The two sides met for two days last week, and Urbain said he is hoping to schedule another two-day session soon to address final details. Once that is accomplished, he said it takes about three weeks to complete a ratification vote among the membership.

With that time frame, the likelihood of an agreement before expiration of the current contract is slim. Until a new agreement is reached, though, Urbain said it will be business as usual.

“The current contract would still apply,” Urbain said.

Urbain said SPD is not competitive with salary scales offered by law enforcement agencies in nearby jurisdictions, where he said many officers already live because of the lack of attainable housing in the city. The union’s initial request was for a starting pay of $67,000 a year for patrol officers, while the city’s current position is approximately $62,000. First-year pay for an SPD patrol officer is $52,621.

“I think going into the contract negotiations, it was a bit of a sticker shock to the city, and quite frankly, to us as well,” Urbain said, who added the ask is based on the pay scale in other area jurisdictions, including the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. “We felt our proposal was pretty fair. That was rejected, the city submitted a counteroffer, which was rejected, and then we created another scale. We expect another rejection on that at the next negotiation session, but we’re getting closer.”

As for the anti-discrimination policy, Urbain said the city currently investigates itself when complaints are filed with no legal representation available to the aggrieved union member.

On that point, the city replied in a statement, “The city of Sarasota does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability or marital status. These classes are already protected under state and federal law as well as local ordinance, and the city abides by those regulations in all its employment-related decisions.”

Negotiations began in February. According to the city, an agreement by the end of September would be extraordinary, given historical context.

“From the beginning, we have negotiated in good faith and in accordance with Florida Statute 447, which outlines collective bargaining practices,” reads the city’s statement. "We have been active participants, responded to numerous proposals and listened to the IUPA members during the negotiations. … We do not see this as a win/lose proposal, but an opportunity for both sides to present information and come to acceptable agreements. While negotiations began in February, previous police collective bargaining agreements have taken 1.5 to 2 years to finalize.”