The statement, which was issued after the Dayton City Commission met in executive session to discuss collective bargaining on Wednesday morning, says the city will implement the tentative agreement as requested by the Dayton Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge #44.
“While the city maintains that the tentative agreement was not intended to be interpreted this way, the city also recognizes the value of retaining our officers and the importance of preserving a positive relationship between the city and the FOP,” the statement states.
Last month, this newspaper reported that the city had filed a request with the State Employment Relations Board to set up a joint conciliation between the city and FOP.
City attorneys claimed the city and the FOP had “fundamentally different” interpretations of the meaning and application of the new pay steps spelled out in a contract agreement they approved earlier this year.
Officers’ pay is based on their time of service, and the new contract eliminated some of the lower pay steps so that newer officers would make higher pay from the start and they would graduate to higher pay levels more quickly.
FOP President Thomas previously said the city tried to claim that officers should only graduate to higher pay steps when they reach made-up “step anniversaries” that were never discussed during contract negotiations.
The union asked the State Employment Relations Board to dismiss the request, arguing the agency has no jurisdiction over the matter and the appropriate channel to address contract issues is arbitration. SERB dismissed the city’s request last month.
Thomas said the FOP filed grievances after its members were paid for the wrong steps in the pay schedule. He said the union expects to withdraw those grievances.
Thomas told the Dayton Daily News on Wednesday that the relationship between the city and the police union has been very strained in recent months as they tried to resolve this dispute.
But he said he’s glad the city and union ultimately were able to work through this together, despite their different interpretations of the contract.
“We’re thankful that city management came to the table and understood the importance of fixing this, of doing it the right way,” he said.
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