Public Employee Press

Local 1549 presses Police Dept. to hire civilians

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly is strongly committed to preserving the jobs of his uniformed Police Officers, even if that means taking them away from protecting the public and putting them behind desks doing clerical work. So far, neither a major arbitration ruling nor court orders affirming that award have been able to change his mind.

But the powerful economic logic advanced by DC 37 and Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549 has made a dent in Kelly’s armor. The local recently launched a bold public-awareness campaign, with radio spots playing on popular stations and full-page newspaper ads driving home the union message that: “The cost of a cop behind a desk and not on the street is almost criminal!”

“We are applying all the pressure we can to keep clerical workers in their jobs and uniformed cops on patrol,” said Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez.

In June, Kelly canceled plans to lay off 400 New York Police Dept. civilian workers and reassigned many uniformed officers from clerical duties to street patrols in high-crime precincts.

In September, the NYPD hired about 100 new Police Administrative Aides from the civil service list and trained them to replace provisionals dismissed under the requirements of the Long Beach court decision.

The union ads explain that assigning uniformed officers to the clerical-administrative desk jobs of Local 1549 members wastes the city’s money and leaves city streets less secure.

In May, Rodriguez, Executive Board members and Police Administrative Aides met with U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer in Washington to explain the union’s position.

“Replacing a $37,000-a-year clerical worker with a cop earning $73,000 makes no sense at all,” said Rodriguez.

“Senator Schumer understands the concept of civilianization — and he finds the current economic waste shocking, especially in a city that is facing severe budget problems,” he said.

Sen. Schumer agreed to work with Local 1549. He called Kelly to establish the amount of money it would take to avert the layoffs of civilians, and he expressed great interest in exploring sources of funding for hiring police and civilians to alleviate the agency’s financial crunch.