Vote Set on Declaring Impasse in Police Talks

Long Beach city officials, engaged in a labor dispute with the Police Department, are moving to declare an impasse in the negotiations and unilaterally adopt a new contract.

The City Council on Tuesday will vote on whether to declare the impasse and enforce the city’s last contract offer, which was rejected by the 610-member Long Beach Police Officers’ Assn.

After 13 negotiating sessions over the past eight months, city officials insist that further talks would be futile. Union officials say they will probably go to court if the council adopts the new contract.

The dispute centers on personnel policies rather than money. Complaining that the old contract language hamstrings the police chief and leads to inefficient staffing, management wants greater authority to transfer officers, wants to replace many two-officer patrol cars with single-officer cars and wants to reduce the number of officers working 10-hour, four-day weeks.

The union, saying the city should hire more police to solve the staffing problems, contends that the changes would give the chief unbridled power. The union was due for a new three-year contract in July.