New York City reaches labor deal with police sergeants union

By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City has reached a labor contract agreement with the Sergeants Benevolent Association, whose 4,602 members serve in the largest police force in the United States, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday. The deal means that four out of five police unions have now reached pacts with the city, leaving out the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, which has been at odds with de Blasio over what it sees as his lack of support for rank-and-file officers. The feud between the PBA and City Hall flared up in December after two officers were ambushed in their patrol car in Brooklyn by a gunman who said he was avenging the deaths of Eric Garner on Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, unarmed black men killed in encounters with white officers. PBA president said de Blasio was unsupportive of police and created an anti-police sentiment in the weeks leading up to the shootings. The sergeants' proposed seven-year contract, which covers raises and health insurance, would date retroactively to Aug. 30, 2011, and expire on Aug. 29, 2018. It calls for an 11 percent pay increase over the life of the contract, and has a net cost of $252.1 million. "This was a long journey and a lot of negotiations," de Blasio said at a news conference with sergeants union president Ed Mullins. "Sergeants risk their lives every single day to keep the city safe, and this agreement recognizes and honors the difficult and dangerous work they do day in and day out," de Blasio later said in a statement. De Blasio and Mullins, one of his fiercest critics, had private meetings about a month ago, soon after the relations between City Hall and police unions reached a boiling point following the Brooklyn ambush. Mullins said at the news conference that the two parties set aside points they disagree on in the interest of the city. “I give a lot of credit to Mayor de Blasio for addressing this efficiently,” Mullins said. “Within the last year, we were able to find some common ground and move forward.” The pact means the city has secured contract deals with 76 percent of the city workforce. (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Mohammad Zargham)