The decision by the San Antonio Police Officers Association to postpone further collective bargaining agreement negotiations with the city of San Antonio may come with a steep financial price — for both sides.
The move means San Antonio will have to continue to abide by the terms of a previous agreement city leaders said is far too costly because of an evergreen clause triggered when the old deal expired on Sept. 30, 2014. That clause essentially extends the previous CBA through Sept. 30, 2024 — or until a new agreement is reached.
San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor said the city will continue to pursue its legal challenge to a so-called evergreen clause in its collective bargaining agreement with the San Antonio Police Officers Association.
One of the city’s chief concerns with the current CBA is escalating health care costs. City officials said without a new deal, San Antonio will be on the hook for $19,260 per police department employee in fiscal 2016 — or about $45.7 million based on a current workforce of 2,375 personnel. That’s a considerable increase over the fiscal 2015 cost of approximately $16,000 per employee — and nearly three times what the city pays per civilian worker in health care costs, government officials contend.
Last year, the city filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the evergreen clause. There has been no ruling yet.
San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) President Michael Helle sent a letter to San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor and City Council members on Wednesday, stating that union leaders have “come to the conclusion that we cannot reach an accord until such time as the city dismisses its evergreen lawsuit or the matter is concluded in a court of law.”
Taylor fired back on Thursday, stating in a letter to Helle that the city “will take every action necessary to pursue our legal challenge to the evergreen clause.”
Police union members also stand to lose plenty, should the stalemate with the city continue to drag on. City officials said without a new CBA, there will be no pay increases for police officers, who could collectively leave some $600,000 in additional compensation on the table per month beginning on Oct. 1. That figure is based on proposed wage increases that have so far been rejected by the union, according to city officials.