COLLECTIVE BARGAINING REPORT
NJ State PBA 2017-18
Collective Bargaining Annual Report
We who serve on the Collective Bargaining
Committee hope that everyone had an enjoyable
summer and a productive year.
As we look forward to the challenges that Fis-
cal Year 2018-19 will bring, we can take comfort
in the fact that we are well prepared to meet
those challenges with the knowledge and ability
to move forward.
As for Fiscal Year 2017-18, which ended in Sep-
MICHAEL
FREEMAN tember 2018, the NJ State PBA received a record
number of 266 collective bargaining agreements.
This number is slightly above average for any
given year and partially reflects the increased turnover of dele-
gates, as contracts are required for attendance at the new dele-
gates training session.
It is very important for state delegates from each Local to sub-
mit their newly negotiated collective bargaining agreements to
the State PBA, not only for the rank-and-file members, but also
for the SOAs as well. When submitting a new contract, it is es-
sential to your members to submit a signed copy of the agree-
ment. Inasmuch as the PBA maintains each agreement on file,
a signed contract always gives an advocate the ability to make a
stronger argument.
As is reported at each new delegate training session, it is the
responsibility of the state delegate for both rank-and-file Locals
and SOAs to submit collective bargaining agreements, pursuant
to Article VII, Section 1, sub-section c. of the State PBA Consti-
tution and By-Laws. We are getting better, but we still have far to
go to get each Local’s contract into the state office.
Because the State PBA has been collecting contracts since
1985, we now have thousands of agreements in storage in the
basement. As you might imagine, it requires several filing cabi-
nets to store that many documents. The PBA is currently in the
process of digitizing each agreement to a searchable PDF file for
storage and retrieval. This will free up important space down-
stairs, protect the contracts from the failings that befall paper
documents, preserve the current condition of the collective
bargaining agreements and make them more efficiently retriev-
able. With the assistance of PBA office staff members Mary Ann
Drost, Cindy Cuzzo and Dianne Pace, the Collective Bargaining
Committee hopes to complete this massive task by April 2019.
A major focus of the State PBA Collective Bargaining Com-
mittee continues to be collecting data on each of the contracts
that successfully negotiated a reduction of health benefits
cost-sharing. The range of reduction is varied and reflects the
individual needs of the Locals and their municipalities. Some
have agreed to the statutory minimum of 1.5 percent of salary,
while others have used a set percentage as low as 10 percent of
premium cost. The most innovative approach was a Local that
transferred all leave time (vacation, personal, holiday, sick) and
converted it into paid time off (PTO). Since that time has a mon-
etary value, employees can elect to utilize some of it to reduce
or eliminate the contribution made through payroll deduction.
This is an example of “Thinking Outside of the Box,” a new seg-
18
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ OCTOBER 2018
ment that will be discussed at the PBA Collective Bargaining
Seminar. All presidents and delegates are encouraged to con-
tact me with any provisions of their contracts that they believe
embody creative negotiations that can be shared with the entire
membership.
The spreadsheets that are the cornerstone of the research
done in this office have been altered in some ways. We have
streamlined the SALARY tab to display starting salary; top sal-
ary; number of steps; maximum longevity; and percentage in-
crease for each agency, all on one page. On the BENEFITS tab,
we have added extra duty rates and Chapter 78 Reduction col-
umns. In instances where a change has taken place in the wage
guide — i.e., the number of steps to maximum wage or changes
in the longevity benefit — the specific contract language has
been inserted as a comment attached to that entry. By removing
some redundant tabs and columns, the data can be filtered and
sorted from a broader range of similar jurisdictions for a more
complete summary of the information sought.
All this information is available to Locals at no cost. To receive
this data, the requesting Local must have its collective bargain-
ing agreement on file with the State PBA.
The highest base wage for 2018 is in a Bergen County juris-
diction, while the lowest base wage jurisdiction is in Cumber-
land County. The statewide average increase to top base salary
in 2017 was 2.10 percent based upon 263 agreements, and 2.03
percent based on 155 agreements on file. No interest arbitration
decisions have been issued by the Public Employment Relations
Commission in 2018 since the expiration of the interest arbitra-
tion cap for agreement that expired after Dec. 31, 2017. Since
most contracts expire on Dec. 31, the prevailing legal opinion is
that those agreements are still subject to the cap. It is unlikely
that the cap will be re-instated, but it is important to note that
the municipal tax levy cap (the total amount that the municipal
tax can increase) is still 2 percent, and many governing bodies
are using that as a guide for negotiations.
The February PBA meeting will be held on Feb. 5, 2019 at
Harrah’s Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. The 32nd annual NJ
State PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar is scheduled to begin
with lunch immediately after the meeting. The seminar will be-
gin at 1 p.m. and break at 5 p.m. on the first day. The seminar
will continue on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7 with a continental breakfast
and registration at 8 a.m. Sessions will begin at 9 a.m. and con-
clude at 4 p.m. Seminar applications are available at the state
office or at NJSPBA.com.
I would like to thank all members of the State PBA Collective
Bargaining Committee for their work and effort to keep our da-
tabase up-to-date and relevant to meet the needs of this asso-
ciation. I would also like to thank, in particular, Chairman Artie
Cronk, the state delegate for Manchester Township Local 246,
and Co-Chair Bill Comerro, the delegate for NJ State Campus
Police Local 278, for their dedication and service to this com-
mittee. Their work gives the State PBA the ability to keep all
members informed of the current happenings when it comes to
collective bargaining in all of its forms.