University and the Yale Police union
reach agreement on six-year contract

Yale's unionized police officers have ratified a six-year contract with the University that will provide officers with a series of salary increases and enhanced pension and disability benefits. The University and the Yale Police Benevolent Association (YPBA) had announced a tentative agreement on the contract a week before the ratification vote on Dec. 2.

Yale and the YPBA thanked New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. for his active role in the negotiations leading to the tentative agreement, noting that his productive mediation included suggested compromises on a number of contract issues.

The contract period runs from July 1, 1996, when the previous agreement expired, through June 30, 2002.

"The agreement is an excellent one for Yale and its officers," said President Richard C. Levin. "It will keep Yale's police force among the best paid in the region and ensure that Yale will continue to attract and retain officers of the highest ability and professionalism. Yale's officers are to be commended for their dedicated service during the lengthy negotiation period."

"The YPBA is pleased with the outcome of the negotiations and is most appreciative of Mayor DeStefano for his invaluable assistance in reaching an agreement," said Officer Carlos Perez, president of the YPBA.

The agreement provides officers with a $750 signing bonus, a two percent salary increase retroactive to July 1, 1998 and another two percent increase dated from the ratification vote. Officers will also receive increases of two percent on July 1, 1999, 2.75 percent on July 1, 2000 and three percent on July 1, 2001. In the last year of the agreement, the annual salary for current officers will range from $43,124 to $53,506, excluding overtime.

Enhancements in pension benefits for officers under the contract include an increase of 29 percent in the non-contributory pension plan benefit, a lowering of the minimum retirement age to 50, and the establishment of a supplementary pension plan in which the University will match contributions made by officers up to a prescribed level.

The contract also provides enhancements in long-term disability benefits when the disability is suffered in the line of duty or while on duty and as the result of a specific discharge of duty. A disability suffered in the line of duty could occur in an off-duty situation, such as when an officer responds to a call for police service in an emergency. The long-term disability enhancements in these cases include continued pension credit accrual and health benefits identical to those provided to officers disabled while on duty.

The agreement establishes the same health care changes for active employees and retirees that were adopted in the University's 1996 contracts with its other collective bargaining units.

The Yale Police Department is a fully sworn police agency that receives its police powers through the City of New Haven. Created in 1894, it was the first campus-based police department in the country, and has continued to serve as a model for other campus police operations. The police force currently has about 55 officers represented by the YPBA and about 15 supervisory officers.