Pike | 
06 27th, 2008| 
Teamster brothers and sisters,
I know there are a lot of rumors about what was passed in the budget. The following is exactly what was passed in the budget concerning our pay. A 5% increase in the starting salary(not an across the board raise). The pay scale for FCO, MO, and SO will now be made at 2 years, 4 years, 6 years, respectively. For a better idea of the raise you will get this year when this is implemented I have broken it down into years of service.
1 year experience will get a raise of $1694, 2 years $2202, 3 years $2428,4years $2549, 5 years $1675, 6 years $1738, 7 years $1803, 8 years $1871, 9 years $1917, 10 years $1966, 11 years $2015, 12 years $683, 13 yeas $413.
Finally, the educational incentive was passed and officers will now receive approximately $1400 for a bachelor degree and $700 for an associate degree, every year.
I understand there is a great deal of frustration with these pay raises because of the disparity it creates. Officers with less experience are getting raises while those with more experience are not. And officers with college degree are getting a raise and those without a degree are not. As many of you know the union has made pay a priority over the past several years. We have worked very hard to get any raise passed through council even if its just for one group because that is better than no raise at all. Without collective bargaining an across the board raise is rare and very difficult to pass through the budget. The raise we will get this year comes from the influence this union has with the Chief and the city council. We started last year when we endorsed Chief Dolan and conveyed to him that our priority was low pay. We worked with him supporting his pay raise through city council and as many of you attended these council meeting this was very helpful in getting the council to understand the need for raises. The Raleigh Police Protective Association introduced the educational incentive and while we had tremendous opposition from the managers office we were still able to pass this raise.
The fight for higher pay does not end here. We will start now in working for raises for next years budget. I can assure all of you that the main reason we get any raise at all is due to the participation of our membership. I ask all of you to attend our next meeting on Tuesday, July 1, 7:30 p.m. at the Dive Bar on Glenwood Ave. The more members we have in the union and the more members we have participate the more likely we will get a raise. Please continue to help organize and explain to non members the importance of joining the union.
Thanks for all your support.
Rick Armstrong
I want to thank everyone for attending the city council meeting on Tuesday night. Our presence certainly made a difference. We had close to 100 union members attend in support of our proposal and because of such a large turnout we may have swayed several council members to support an across the board raise for all officers. Eric and I have recently met with council members who are now discussing a raise for all officers. There is no doubt in my mind that our solidarity on Tuesday night influenced the city council. I am truly grateful to all the members who attended but especially to those who did not have a college degree but attended to support their fellow union members recognizing the importance of solidarity. Because of this we may now all benefit with an across the board raise. Eric and I will continue to meet with council members to lobby for this raise. Every Monday night for the month of June from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. there will be budget hearings in council chambers. Eric and I will attend these meetings and keep you all updated on the progress. I encourage all who can to attend.