APA Delivers Another Great Contract In Spite of Newspaper & Community Objections

February 4, 2005

Austin Mayor Will Wynn (left) and Austin Police Association President Mike Sheffield

The Austin Police Association (APA) has concluded its second consecutive meet and confer agreement with the City of Austin; and once again, the agreement maintains Austin police officers as the best paid in the State of Texas in terms of both salaries and fringe benefits. "Our Association worked hard to build up our political strength through support of key City Council members and the Mayor," said APA President Mike Sheffield. "This support became critical due to the strong opposition we faced on this agreement."

Overlaying the recent negotiations were serious community tensions resulting from several high-profile shootings and other incidents in the African-American community; problems with the implementation of the police civilian review auditor position as a buffer between the Police Department and the community; and continuing complaints from community acitivists about the alleged misconduct of Austin police officers. Even worse, the local newspaper - the Austin American Statesman, ran a 4-part series trying to show by raw numbers that the Austin police officers were stopping and arresting minority citizens in high numbers disproportional to their percentage in the community. This analysis unfortunately was so clearly biased and the figures taken out of context, that the points in the article were meaningless.

In order to deliver another good agreement to its members, the APA had to take on not only the many community activists that wanted to see the Association fail, but also pick a fight with an organization that buys ink by the barrel. The APA conducted a series of radio ads, press conferences, a major demonstration, and a serious dialogue with members of the City Council.

In the end, the City Council did the right thing and approved a 5-year agreement that included the following important improvements in benefits and rights for Austin police officers that now make them the best paid in the State of Texas:
Ø Longevity pay increase
Ø Mental health office pay
Ø Shift differential pay increase
Ø Education/certificate pay increase
Ø Increase in sick leave buyout
Ø 2% pay increase over and above any increases for other city
employees
Ø Limitations on the authority of the police monitor to review
officer's misconduct