Boston Mayor Michelle Wu nullified a budget override vote the City Council took last month that included raises for a municipal labor union, saying that the body violated the city charter by inserting itself into collective bargaining.
The funds intended in the override vote — which sought to increase the salaries of municipal protective services employees as part of an “inter-departmental shift” that would have decreased their overtime spending — will not be used for that purpose in the fiscal year 2024 budget, Wu told the Council in a Monday letter.
“That purpose violates the city charter because it inserts the Council into collective bargaining negotiations,” Wu wrote, adding that state law also prohibits third parties from taking part in the bargaining process.
Further, the $584,897 in funds approved for the salary increase is the “exact sum” this particular union, the Municipal Police Patrolmen’s Association, has requested in its collective bargaining negotiations with the city, Wu wrote. The funds would have increased their hourly pay from $23.48 to $30.
The city and union both agree that MPPA salaries should be adjusted, but the two sides have yet to reach an agreement on the size of the increase, Wu said. The union consists of employees who provide security for municipal buildings like City Hall.
“There is no other interpretation of this override vote than as a directive from the City Council to the administration to adopt the MPPA’s specific salary increase demands in bargaining, which is a clear-cut violation of the city charter and state law,” Wu wrote.
“I am grateful for my colleagues’ impulse to advocate for our city workers, but the Council cannot use the budget-making process to dictate collective bargaining, especially when it has a role in voting to appropriate funds for settled contracts after negotiations are completed.”
The City Council voted, 10-1, for the override, with Councilor Gabriela Coletta voting present and Michael Flaherty voting ‘no.’ Both cited concerns with the collective bargaining process.
The override, as initially proposed by Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, would have offset the salary increase for municipal protective services employees with cuts to the police department.
It passed with an amendment from Councilor Frank Baker, who suggested that the raises be offset by a decrease to the MPPA’s overtime budget instead.
The City Council had failed to override four other vetoes to the mayor’s $4.2 billion operating budget, as proposed by Fernandes Anderson, who shepherded the body’s budget process as chair of its ways and means committee.
“My administration is dedicated to reaching a fair deal with all our municipal unions,” Wu wrote. “All of our labor partners deserve the fairness and respect that comes with a settled contract, and we must follow the proper processes to carry out collective bargaining to reach these contracts.”