Nassau Corrections Officers vote down proposed contract

                                                                                   


                  

Nassau's Corrections Officers Benevolent Association, which has been working without a contract since Dec.31, 2017,  defeated a proposed new memorandum of understanding yesterday by a 3 to 2 vote.

According to a post on the union website, 358 members voted "No" while 251 voted in favor of the new deal that would have run from Jan. 2018 through June 30, 2026.

The union had 731 members as of the end of June.

The defeat is not surprising.

Corrections officers were being asked to accept raises of 2 to 3 percent through 2025 when inflation is currently running 8.5 percent nationwide. The memorandum of understanding also called for members to make a 2 percent annual contributions to their health insurance.

Some labor contracts have an inflation clause: if annual inflation runs above a certain percent, say six percent, members will get an additional salary hike reflecting anything above that number. For example, if 8.5 percent inflation persisted, that would mean an additional 2.5 percent salary increase on top of the 2.5 percent contract raise for 2023.

But President Brian Sullivan said in a podcast, "You can’t negotiate a contract based on the inflation rate."

Sullivan said the deal he struck with Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman on August 11 was the best allowed under the county's financial control board, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority.

This is the second of the county's three largest unions to vote down a contract that abided by NIFA guidelines. 

Nassau's Police Benevolent Association voted down a proposed contract in Dec. 2020 negotiated by former Democratic County Executive Laura Curran.

Still working without a contract is Nassau's Civil Service Employees Association. 

The police detectives union and the Superior Officers Association approved new deals in 2020.

Rejection of the PBA deal led to the resignation of then PBA president James McDermott. 

It is not known if yesterday's vote will put a strain on Sullivan's leadership.

                                                                   

County Executive Bruce Blakeman and COBA president Brian Sullivan reach deal Aug. 11

   


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