Miami-Dade police union members will have to make a decision on Monday whether to approve a contract between the union and county administrators to help cut budget costs.
If the proposed contract is approved by the majority of the 5,000 members of the union, officers will take on serious salary cuts. Officers will have to pay $50 every two weeks for their vehicle if they take it home and overtime pay for court appearances and holiday shifts would be cut, according to The Miami Herald.
If the deal does not go through, about 200 county employees could face layoffs to cover about $200 million in labor concessions.
Police Benevolent Association President John Rivera told the Herald that the contract as the "hardest, hardest sell of my entire career."
"It's been a struggle. We've been reminding our member that this mayor is not friendly to law enforcement and government employees and that he's more interested in his self preservation than peoples lives," Rivera told the Herald.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez made a deal last month in November with a proposed plan to cut $239 million from 10 employee unions. Almost one-third of the cut will come from the Miami-Dade Police department.
"I'm hopeful that the members of the PBA will vote in favor of the contract proposal. If they do not ratify it, there is a process in place to resolve these matters, and cost-saving measure will be implemented to maintain a balanced budget," said Gimenez.
The deal would mean that officers who have been employed for a longer period of time would be bearing the sacrifice to their salary to ensure that their newer colleagues remain employed.
Miami-Dade officers like Ryan Coward and his father Lee Cowart are among the newer officer who would be laid-off.
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"I'm hoping it will pass. A lot of guys are understanding to the cause," Cowart said.
If the deal does not get approved then it is back to the drawing board for union and county officials.
"There will be layoffs, there is no way around it. There's no way to make-up the deficit," said Miami-Dade Police Director Jim Loftus.
Members of the PBA will vote at Sun Life Stadium, PBA Hall in Doral, and the Park-and-Ride lot in Southwest Miami on Monday from 7 a.m to 7 p.m.
