Oakland cops are poised to get a 14% wage hike over five years after the City Council voted to approve a tentative contract agreement Tuesday.
The pay raise is accompanied by "longevity premiums," additional pay bumps based on seniority that can be as high as 15% of an officer's base salary for 20-year veterans.
The agreement also includes concessions from the police union, the Oakland Police Officers' Association, in the form of healthcare and retirement contributions designed to offset the cost of longevity premiums.
Currently, the city pays for 100% of the department's healthcare premiums. Officers will pay 10% of that cost in the fourth year of the contract. Also, by the start of the final year of the contract, officers will pay an additional 3% into their pensions.
The net cost to the city for the agreement over its five-year life would be $72.1 million, according to a report from Oakland's Human Resources Director Mary Hao.
In addition to the pay and benefit clauses, the agreement also sets some new rules for overtime work by requiring officers to get the chief or the chief's designee to sign off on those hours.
It also contains a "me too" clause, which allows OPOA to receive even higher pay hikes if other unions within the city are able to negotiate better terms for their own contracts.
OPOA President Huy Nguyen released a statement thanking the city's negotiating team and the mayor's office for helping hammer out the deal.
"This agreement helps the City of Oakland retain experienced officers and recruit the next generation of police officers by providing competitive compensation and important retention incentives," Nguyen said. "At the same time, our members recognized the serious financial challenges facing the city and agreed to make significant sacrifices of their own, including paying a greater share of healthcare and pension costs over the life of the agreement."
The council voted 7-1 to approve the agreement, with Councilmember Carroll Fife casting the sole dissenting vote.
The agreement requires a final vote from the City Council, which is scheduled for October 6, and a majority vote of the members of the OPOA.