Ed Mullins, the head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association and one of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s most vocal critics during the Eric Garner protests, has warmed up to the mayor after signing a new seven-year labor contract. The chummy banter that Mullins — who famously called de Blasio a “total nincompoop” for supporting protesters and was one of the cops who turned his back on the mayor at the funeral — and de Blasio shared on Thursday seems to be an indication that tensions between the NYPD and City Hall are thawing.
From the AP:
“I think at this point we have a relationship when I can pick the phone up and set up a meeting and have real a conversation,” Mr. Mullins said. “If there’s ever a time when we think we’re going into mud-wrestling, and that happens, we’ll let you know.”
The agreement, which covers the NYPD’s 4,062 full-time sergeants, authorizes 11% raises over the next seven years. It follows the pattern set by the teachers union, which was the first major union to agree to a deal with the de Blasio administration last year. But, like other uniformed unions, it contains an additional 1% raise in its first year.
The contract is similar to deals that City Hall made with three other police unions, the New York Daily News notes, and includes “modest back pay, with 1% increases in the first four years, and ending with a 3% hike for the final year of 2018.”
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, headed by fellow de Blasio critic Patrick Lynch, is still negotiating a contract.
(Photo: Aymann Ismail/ANIMALNewYork)
