NEWS ANALYSIS: U., police still at odds over contract dispute

When members of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 113 -- which represents University Police officers -- rejected a contract offered by the University Monday, they sent both sides back to the bargaining table for what will likely be another lengthy round of federally mediated negotiations. The officers have been working without a contract since August 1. Because of state laws preventing University Police officers -- who are classified as private employees -- from requesting binding arbitration, and national union bylaws prohibiting members from going on strike, the FOP and the University must reach an agreement through face-to-face negotiations. And since it was FOP members who voted down the contract -- a result of negotiations between the union's leadership and the University -- the FOP's executive board faces the difficult task of balancing its rank-and-file's demands with those of the University. The main point of contention between the two sides was a proposal to have officers rotate among each of the department's three eight-hour shifts, which many officers opposed because it would require regular changes in their work schedules. "It's my understanding that the FOP is going to meet with management to see if they can do something with the rotating shifts," FOP attorney Dianne Sheppard said yesterday. Public Safety officials were tight-lipped about the FOP's rejection of the contract, hinting that FOP officials -- including Sheppard and University Police Cpl. Hugh McBreen, the lodge's president -- violated a mediator-ordered press blackout against discussing specific terms of the negotiations. "We are going to continue and try to solidify a contract," Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush said. "The best way to do that is at the negotiation table, not through the newspapers." Public Safety Managing Director Thomas Seamon echoed Rush's words, saying the University "will comply with the mediator's wishes even if the union violates this policy." But Sheppard insisted that the FOP has abided by the mediator's orders. "There haven't been any violations of any media blackout," she said. And amid University charges that the FOP violated the press blackout, there are several key issues underlying the failure of the FOP and the University to agree to terms on a new contract. University Police officers -- unlike Philadelphia Police officers, for instance -- are classified as private employees and are not covered by a 1968 state law known as Act 111 which "provides rights for police and fire employees," according to Pat Crawford, secretary of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Act 111 allows publicly employed police officers and firefighters to request binding arbitration if an impasse is reached in contract negotiations. "Police employees at the University of Pennsylvania would not be covered by Act 111 because their employer is not the commonwealth or one of its political subdivisions," Crawford said, adding that this type of issue has arisen in the past with Philadelphia Housing Authority police officers. Crawford said there has been "a great deal of resistance to making any changes" in the law, noting that the law has remained unchanged since its enactment. Additionally, national FOP bylaws prohibit members from going on strike, further weakening the officers' negotiating position. Leroy Anthony, an official with the statewide FOP, confirmed that the union's no-strike provision often causes police officers to lose leverage during bargaining talks. And National Labor Relations Board attorney Henry Protas explained that federal labor laws do not contain any provisions allowing police employees to request binding arbitration. Sheppard said that the FOP's executive board cannot force rank-and-file members to approve any contract. "[The executive board members] have no guarantee that their membership's going to ratify it," she said.

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