Police union rejects terms of contract

U. Police officers have gone without a contract since August, but cited "big problems" with the new proposal. After months of federally mediated negotiations, members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 113 -- which represents University Police officers -- has rejected a contract offered by the University. University Police officers have been working without a contract since August 1. FOP President Hugh McBreen said the union voted down the contract because it contained several "big problems." He cited a Public Safety 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. In addition, McBreen said the terms of the contract did not apply retroactively to cover the nearly seven months officers have been working without a contract. Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush was reluctant to comment on the FOP's rejection of the proposed contract, saying "we still don't have all the details" as of early yesterday evening. Managing Director of Public Safety Thomas Seamon and University spokesperson Ken Wildes did not return telephone calls to their offices yesterday. The two have declined to comment on the matter for the past several months. Rush said the FOP and the University put the final touches on the contract in their most recent negotiating session, which occurred last Wednesday. "We came to a package that the FOP leadership then took back and presented to the bargaining unit," Rush said. The FOP's vote comes a few weeks before Public Safety expects to hire approximately 24 new University Police officers. A high-ranking University Police source said that the contract rejection "really won't affect the new officers as of right now." But the source noted that the rejected deal did contain provisions that would have applied differently to the newly hired officers and current University Police officers. "With the current contract, there is some flexibility in how we can assign [the new officers]," the source said. According to FOP attorney Dianne Sheppard, University Police officers have been working in a "really rotten employment situation." "I honestly don't know why we're having such a problem [negotiating with the University]," Sheppard said in a recent interview, adding that the FOP's demands have been "too reasonable." She explained that the University had not been meeting FOP demands such as a pension increase and a "small," 3 percent pay raise. "Quite frankly, I think the University would want to replace [University Police officers] with security guards," Sheppard said recently. The FOP's "no" vote on the University's contract means the negotiations -- which have been conducted by a National Labor Relations Board mediator -- are likely to continue for several more weeks, officials said. Sheppard noted that because of a technicality that classifies University Police officers as private employees, they are unable to request binding arbitration. Furthermore, national FOP bylaws prohibit members from striking, making University Police officers the only Penn employees who cannot strike, she said. "They can bargain and bargain and bargain, and the management can say, 'No, no, no'," Sheppard said, adding that University Police officers "do the exact same job as all other police officers." Daily Pennsylvanian reporter Erin Malec contributed to this article.

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