Representatives of the City negotiations team have approached the HPOU with discussions of a contract re-opener. The Board of Directors of the HPOU would be remiss by not sitting down with the City in an effort to lay out points of interest that we would like to see occur.

As you may have heard, the City has approached the HPOU with talks of a contract re-opener. Although it is going to require a ton of work and lots of explanations, the Board of Directors of the HPOU has decided that as the elected sole and exclusive Bargaining Agent for HPD officers, we would be remiss by not sitting down with the City. The obvious point for us is to determine whether it would be worthwhile for us to enter that arena with the city negotiating team, and lay out points of interest that we would like to see occur, and make a determination as to whether they can even be accomplished. In addition, we invited HPOPS Chairman Larry Doss and Executive Director John Lawson to a recent meeting to make sure that the pension system would be on board with any changes that we are proposing that may impact the system. We appreciate their input in these discussions.

I realize that Mayor White may have many of you concerned and nervous regarding a number of issues, but the fact of the matter is this is not the mid1980’s. During those times, past administrations could do whatever they damn well pleased. We have a legal and binding contract in place today, and as such the administration is once again asking to visit rather than just pulling the trigger, like administrations have done in the past. It is a new era with the Meet and Confer process and contracts, as well as the HPOU’s ability to influence the political process. We are very aware of your concerns and the challenges that lay ahead.

Let me assure each of you that this organization has done nothing but strive to improve officers’ lives with previous contacts, and I can guarantee that if an agreement is reached between the HPOU and the City,  police officers will benefit. As a reminder to all of you – internally - the product is presented and must be approved by the HPOU Board of Directors. Then, as per state law, before any final agreed-to amendment is added to the current contract, the members of the bargaining unit, as well as city council will have to approve the final product. We will keep you updated on these talks as they progress.

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