San Jose Police Approve New Contract, Union Says Officer Exodus Will Continue
SAN JOSE (KCBS)— San Jose police officers have overwhelmingly approved a new contract offer, which provides a 10 percent raise over three years following almost a year of bitter labor negotiations.
Despite approval from 79 percent of the rank-and-file officers in the department, there's little enthusiasm for the deal.
"I don't think the overwhelming passing of this vote is any indication that there's a celebration going on," San Jose Police Officers Association Board Member James Gonzales explained.
San Jose Police Approve New Contract, Union Says Officer Exodus Will Continue
Gonzales said officers will be making in 2015 what they made in 2009.
"Hardly something to be overwhelmingly excited about," he said.
Gonzales said that San Jose has plenty of issues it still needs to address.
"We have hundreds of officers fleeing for other departments. This is the first step the council has taken to address any of that. We have six officers, who after this deal was announced, are walking out the door this week," he said.
Gonzales said cops are continuing to leave for one simple reason. "Officers can make a lot more money doing the same job in any of the surrounding cities. Pretty much this doesn't necessarily change that. This is a small step, far too late in the direction of getting San Jose somewhere in the ballpark of being competitive."
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