NYC Arrives at Contract Deal With Largest Police Union

Mayor Bill de Blasio reached a tentative labor contract agreement Tuesday with his harshest critics, the largest union representing rank and file New York Police Department members.

The new deal, announced by de Blasio at a hastily called City Hall press conference, includes retroactive pay raises and requires that all NYPD officers be outfitted with body cameras by the end of 2019.

“This agreement is the result of many hours spent negotiating…” de Blasio said. “It doesn’t matter how far apart the parties start; it matters where they end up.”

The executive board for the 23,000-member Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association approved the pact, which will then go for full vote among its rank and file.

“New York City police officers are no better than anyone else, but we are different,” said PBA President Patrick Lynch. “We perform the most difficult police job anywhere in the world, and the challenges and dangers we face each day continue to grow. The agreement that we announce here today recognizes those challenges.”

As part of the deal, the PBA agreed to drop it lawsuit against the city involving body cameras.