The city reached an agreement late Tuesday with the Detroit Police Officers Association that is the latest in a string of deals with unions, pension funds and other creditors that could speed Detroit's exit from bankruptcy.
Robert Snell and David Shepardson report in the Detroit News that the DPOA agreement leaves few holdouts: several bond insurers, other financial creditors and the Detroit Fire Fighters Association. A source Tuesday told The News the firefighters union is close to a deal with the city.
Though negotiations toward a five-year deal continue, the city and Detroit Police Officers Association reached a tentative agreement on wages, health care, retention payments and pensions. The agreement, reached after nine months of talks, was announced by a mediation team headed by Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen.
Wage and other details were not released.
A person briefed on the deal said the police union won a significant “catch-up” raise for members after police officers accepted significant wage cuts in recent years. The pay increase was the toughest issue during lengthy talks between the city and the union. It’s not clear when a final deal will be completed, with minor issues like work rules still to be worked out, before a deal can be submitted to police for ratification.
