Milwaukee police chief calls for officers' 'just compensation' amid contract negotiations
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman issued a statement in support of a raise for the city's officers on July 31, days after the union for rank-and-file officers lambasted Johnson for his approach to negotiations on a new contract.
Those negotiations have stretched on for nearly three years, as the city and Milwaukee Police Association, the union for officers, have been working on a contract that expired at the end of 2022.
"There are no words to express my personal gratitude for their daily sacrifices as I know that this calling is no easy task," Norman said in a statement. "It is an honor and a privilege to lead our members of MPD, and I believe their steadfast service warrants just compensation."
Norman spoke with Johnson to advocate for his members in their negotiation, his statement said.
"I support a swift and fair resolution to the ongoing negotiations between the City and the members of MPD," Norman said.
Norman's support is the latest development in the suddenly public negotiation. It comes as the union and city are heading toward arbitration — a process where a third-party ultimately decides on the specifics of a contract — and the union has become vocal in its criticism of Johnson.
That arbitration meeting is scheduled for September; however, a scheduled date for August was canceled after the city attorney working on the negotiation left for a new role.
That prompted the police union to go public with its distaste for how negotiations have gone so far.
"Enough is enough," Milwaukee Police Association President Alex Ayala previously told the Journal Sentinel. "The mayor has the power to give us an offer that is similar or the same as what we're asking for and to end all of this."
The city and union have been disagreeing over pay raises and backpay in a contract that would cover 2023 to the end of 2025. Records obtained by the Journal Sentinel show the two sides appear far apart in their wants, according to contract offers submitted to a state arbitrator.
The union proposed an overall 4.5% wage increase per year between 2023 and 2024, with a 3.75% increase in the first half of 2025. Each raise would be applied retroactively within 60 days of an arbitrator's decision.
The city's proposal called for a 5% wage increase on 2023 salaries, with no retroactive backpay. Then, in 2024 and 2025, it proposed for 2% raises each year, with the backpay.
The current salary range for a Milwaukee police officer is between $63,534.75 and $84,743.87 with annual pay raises in the first five years, according to the city of Milwaukee website.
The negotiations have stalled repeatedly.
That's primarily due to the city having staffing changes in its labor negotiator role and, recently, in the City Attorney's Office. Talks also paused while the city and union agreed to work on 2023 Wisconsin Act 12, a state funding law that, in part, mandated Milwaukee grow its police force.
The union thanked Norman for his statement in a Facebook post shortly after the chief shared his support.
"Thank you, Chief, for standing with the men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department for what's right and be paid what they're asking for," the statement said.
Once approved, and if the contract is not amended to cover 2026, the city and police union would likely immediately reenter negotiations on a contract for 2026 and on. Council member Peter Burgelis issued a July 30 statement advocating for the two parties to reach a four-year agreement to avoid that.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee police chief speaks out in support of officers amid labor talks
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Fed Pick Could Face Resistance From Colleagues on Rates
(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump's relentless calls for dramatic reductions in interest rates, along with his ability to make changes to the Federal Reserve's leadership, is drawing more attention to the way monetary policy decisions are made — and the people who make them. PATH Train Service Resumes After Fire at Jersey City Station Mayor Asked to Explain $1.4 Billion of Wasted Johannesburg Funds Chicago Curbs Hiring, Travel to Tackle $1 Billion Budget Hole Seeking Relief From Heat and Smog, Cities Follow the Wind A close look at that group — barring additional surprise departures from the Fed — suggests the president probably won't get the outsize rate cuts he wants in 2026. Fed Governor Adriana Kugler announced last week she'll resign on Aug. 8, five months before her term was set to run out. Trump said he expects to name a replacement in the coming days. Whomever he chooses will likely be in the running to lead the US central bank when Jerome Powell's term as chair expires in May, and could set the tone for what the Trump administration wants from monetary policy. But even if the new chair agrees with Trump that borrowing costs should be much lower, changing them will require a majority on the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee. Former Fed officials and staffers say that means arguments must be based on the economy, not politics. 'Whoever is in that role as chair, their job is to build consensus among the other voters,' said Loretta Mester, former president of the Cleveland Fed. 'And it'll have to be a sound, economical rationale.' The importance of building support for a decision was on display last month, when Fed officials voted 9-2 to leave their benchmark rate unchanged. Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman — both Trump appointees — dissented in favor of a quarter-point cut. Waller and Bowman said the Fed should provide more support to a slowing labor market, but most officials, including Powell, remained wary of tariff-driven inflation. Fed chiefs are traditionally given significant deference by other policymakers in pursuing consensus, so long as they have the committee's respect. 'If the new chair is perceived as political or aligned with the administration, they may not be granted that trust immediately,' said Marc Giannoni, chief US economist at Barclays (BCS) Capital and former research director at the Dallas Fed. Fed Board All 19 policymakers participate in discussions about the economy and monetary policy, but only 12 officials vote. The seven Fed governors in Washington always vote, along with the president of the New York Fed. The remaining four votes are rotated each year among the presidents of the 11 other regional Fed banks. If Powell resigns from the board when his chairmanship ends in May 2026, as is customary, that will give Trump another opening to fill, in addition to Kugler's seat. Powell's term on the board doesn't officially expire until 2028. Replacing both Kugler and Powell would make four of seven governors Trump appointees. It's not guaranteed that all would automatically take direction from the president, though it could give the new chair a head start, Fed watchers say. 'If you have four governors all lined up on one side, that gives the chair quite a bit of momentum to get his or her way,' William Dudley, a former president of the New York Fed, said Monday on Bloomberg TV. 'But I think the Federal Reserve presidents are going to vote their conscience in terms of what's right for the macroeconomy.' Dudley is a Bloomberg Opinion contributor. While Trump has been calling for lower rates for months, Bowman and Waller backed holding rates steady — and voted in favor of such moves — through June. Waller, whose name has been floated as a potential successor for Powell, has also been a staunch defender of central bank independence. The other members of the board — Governors Michael Barr, Lisa Cook and Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, are generally viewed as neutral voices on rates. All three were appointed by former president Joe Biden. 'They will be very focused on the fundamentals, and they could be a bit of resistance if the new members of the FOMC seem to be more influenced by political desire,' said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist for Nationwide. Regional Banks Aside from New York Fed President John Williams, the regional presidents voting next year will be Cleveland's Beth Hammack, Dallas Fed chief Lorie Logan, the Minneapolis Fed's Neel Kashkari and Philadelphia's Anna Paulson. Williams, who is also vice chair of the FOMC, has often backed Powell and is viewed as a centrist. He said last week he would go into the September policy meeting with 'very much an open mind' about lowering rates, and described the labor market as 'still solid' after gradually cooling over the past year. Hammack, who voted against a rate cut in December, only her third meeting as a policymaker, has shown cautiousness over inflation and a willingness to publicly disagree with her colleagues. She said Friday that while the jobs report was 'disappointing,' she still had confidence in the Fed's decision to keep rates steady last week and believes officials are further from their inflation goal than their employment target. Logan took the helm at the Dallas Fed in 2022 after more than two decades on the markets desk at the New York Fed, where she oversaw management of the Fed's balance sheet. She said in July that officials should hold rates steady for a while longer to bring inflation closer to the 2% target. Kashkari, who previously worked for the Treasury Department under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) during the financial crisis. He said last week that the Fed is committed to making decisions based on the best data. Paulson, who started in the role in July and will be voting as a policymaker for the first time next year, was previously the director of research at the Chicago Fed, where she worked since 2001. Her career as an economist will make her more prone to taking an analytical approach to policy decisions, said Mester. 'All four of the voters coming in are particularly attuned to financial markets and would be particularly sensitive to any indication that the Fed's credibility is at risk,' said Julia Coronado, founder of the research firm MacroPolicy Perspectives and a former Fed economist. Potential Divisions Projections released in June showed 10 officials predicted at least two cuts in 2025. Those in favor of lowering rates this fall could grow after the July jobs report revealed a weaker labor market than previously thought. Additional deterioration could swing the committee in favor of more cuts. But if the new chair is unable to achieve consensus, it could lead to votes even more deeply split – a dynamic that hasn't been seen in decades. That could raise doubts in financial markets about the central bank's direction and its ability to manage inflation, potentially leading to higher long-term interest rates, said Mester. Waller has also nodded to those financial risks. If the next chair lacks credibility with markets, 'you're going to see inflation expectations spike,' Waller said in a July interview with Bloomberg TV. 'You will not get lower interest rates. You will get higher interest rates.' AI Flight Pricing Can Push Travelers to the Limit of Their Ability to Pay Russia's Secret War and the Plot to Kill a German CEO Government Steps Up Campaign Against Business School Diversity What Happens to AI Startups When Their Founders Jump Ship for Big Tech How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign up for the Yahoo Finance Morning Brief By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Sign in to access your portfolio
CBS News
7 minutes ago
- CBS News
Michigan man accused of nearly causing U.S. Border Patrol vehicles to crash on I-96
A Ypsilanti man was federally charged with interfering with Border Patrol agents who were transporting inmates through actions that could have caused their vehicles to crash on Interstate 96 in Michigan. Jacob Nathaniel Len, 30, faces a criminal complaint of impeding, intimidating or interfering with the agents during the July 7 incident, according to the press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. According to the court report, four uniformed officers from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency were in two marked Border Patrol service vehicles while transporting 15 people detained on immigration violations to a correctional facility in Michigan. While the federal vehicles were traveling on I-96, another motorist approached in a BMW sedan and "flipped off the agents with his middle finger," the report said. Then immediately after passing the lead transport van, the motorist cut in front of the lead van without signaling and rapidly slowed down. In response, the driver of the van quickly braked to avoid a collision. The driver of the Border Patrol vehicle behind it was forced to quickly brake to avoid striking the van. This action was repeated twice before the motorist eventually left the freeway. U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said the actions "cavalierly endangered" the lives of the agents, the detainees who were in transport and other drivers on the highway. "Our agents are committed to carrying out their duties with professionalism and dedication, and we will not tolerate behavior that endangers their lives or the lives of others," Chief Patrol Agent John R. Morris from the U.S. Border Patrol, Detroit Sector, said about the incident. Len was in federal court Monday and released on bond. His next court appearance is a preliminary exam Aug. 25. The FBI is leading the investigation, working with the Border Patrol.
Fox News
8 minutes ago
- Fox News
Federal judge blocks Arkansas Ten Commandments law in certain districts
A federal judge temporarily blocked some Arkansas districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in their classrooms as required under a new state law. The injunction from U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks – an appointee of former President Barack Obama – impacts four districts in northwest Arkansas and comes in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of multi-faith families who argued that the religious display requirement violates their religious freedom and parental rights. The law now cannot go into effect until further court action is taken, according to KUAR. "Why would Arkansas pass an obviously unconstitutional law?" Brooks wrote in his 35-page ruling. "Most likely because the state is part of a coordinated strategy among several states to inject Christian religious doctrine into public-school classrooms." "Act 573 is not neutral with respect to religion," he also was quoted by KUAR as saying, noting that the Ten Commandments law "requires that a specific version of that scripture be used, one that the uncontroverted evidence in this case shows is associated with Protestantism and is exclusionary of other faiths." The Arkansas law, signed earlier this year by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, takes effect Tuesday and requires the Ten Commandments to be prominently displayed in public school classrooms and libraries. The lawsuit against it was filed on behalf of the families by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Attorney General Tim Griffin, whose office defended the law, told the Associated Press he was reviewing the decision and assessing legal options. The lawsuit named four school districts in northwest Arkansas — Fayetteville, Bentonville, Siloam Springs and Springdale — as defendants. The plaintiffs were asking for a preliminary injunction to pause the implementation of the law while the lawsuit is pending, according to the ACLU. "Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library — rendering them unavoidable — unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state's favored religious scripture," the lawsuit stated. "It also sends the harmful and religiously divisive message that students who do not subscribe to the Ten Commandments — or, more precisely, to the specific version of the Ten Commandments that Act 573 requires schools to display — do not belong in their own school community and pressures them to refrain from expressing any faith practices or beliefs that are not aligned with the state's religious preferences." Brooks' ruling only narrowly applies to four of the state's 237 districts. It is not immediately clear if the groups who filed the lawsuit would seek a broader block of the law beyond the four districts. ACLU of Arkansas Executive Director Holly Bailey told the AP through a spokesperson that "it is clear from this order and long-established law that all should refrain from posting" the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Similar requirements enacted in Texas and Louisiana are also being challenged in court. A group of families and faith leaders filed a lawsuit seeking to block Texas' requirements days after it was signed into law. Last month in Louisiana — the first state that mandated the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms — a panel of three appellate judges ruled that the law was unconstitutional.
