BALTIMORE — Labor negotiations are getting contentious between Baltimore City and the local Fraternal Order of Police.
On May 29 members of the Baltimore Police union rejected the City's latest and final offer by a resounding 99.4 percent.
Both parties are attempting to renegotiate an expiring Memorandum of Understanding that's slated to end June 30.
The police union is seeking a five percent combined pay raise in fiscal year 2026, broken down by a 2.5 percent hike effective July 1, 2025, followed by another 2.5 percent beginning January 1, 2026.
If the union gets their way, officer pay would increase by an additional four percent in fiscal year 2027 — two percent on July 1, 2026, and two percent more on January 1, 2027.
The City is countering with a three percent cost of living increase in fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
On paper the city's offer amounts to a six percent raise over two years, as opposed to the union's nine percent ask.
Under the city's proposal police trainees and officers with three years or less service time, would collect a five percent raise in Fiscal Year 2026.
The union, however, claims the city's six percent offer misrepresents what officers would truly get.
"The offer was nothing short of insulting," FOP 3 President Mike Mancuso wrote on X. "The proposal amounts to a sub-par compensation package of a 1% raise spread over two years, considering the city’s take backs in their offer."
WMAR-2 News reviewed a copy of the city's offer to learn about these so called "take backs," and what they mean.
In the union's eyes, the city would recoup about five percent of its proposed six percent pay raise by rescinding benefits officers have under the existing contract.
For example, the city wants to change up compensation for officers on-call.
The city's proposal would pay these officers $30 for each eight-hour shift, regardless of whether they're called in or not.
In the event they are needed, officers would receive a minimum four hours overtime pay, but lose their originally scheduled day off.
Another example is the city's plan to eliminate Vacation Medical Incentive Days, which can account for up to eight additional paid days off annually, a reward for officers not calling out sick.
Instead the city is looking to expand the criteria for what permits officers to use sick leave.
Unlike past contracts the city's latest pitch would allow sick days to care for family members, or other FMLA related reasons.
Another holdup is a four hour "penalty payment" officers are usually entitled to when their regular day off is canceled.
The city's latest proposal would eliminate "penalty payments" if days off are canceled a week or more in advance.
Only if their day's lost with less than a week's notice would officers receive "penalty pay."
The same rules and timing would apply if canceled days off are later restored.
There's also concern whether officers will have their canceled off-days replaced
Similar to the "penalty pay" proposition, the city suggests a week's notice would mean the day is "forfeited and cannot be rescheduled or paid out."
Mancuso says changes like these mathematically equate to a one percent pay raise, not the six percent the city claims.
Both sides remain at odds, with each saying their respective offers are final.
"BPD is nearly 700 officers short of what is actually needed to police Baltimore. To make matters worse there are 400 members eligible to retire at any moment," said Mancuso. "This offer does absolutely nothing to address retention, recruitment, or the collapse in morale that continues to plague the agency. It’s a slap in the face to every officer still showing up, doing a dangerous job in a city that refuses to invest in its police force."
As it stands now, Baltimore Police officers without a college degree earn a starting annual salary of $64,416, while topping out at 25 years of service at $117,145 per year.
The City has not responded to our request for comment.
