Two weeks ago, an arbitration panel awarded most Philadelphia police officers a raise that will total 5 percent as of Jan. 1. The city offered District Council 33 members a one-time bonus of up to $1,500 but no pay increase.
Unlike a raise, a bonus does not help build an employee's pension.
The city's District Council 33 offer also differed in terms of health care.
Under the police arbitration award, the city will drop what it pays monthly toward health benefits for police, from $1,303 per officer to $1,165.
But that is still more than what city negotiators proposed paying for health-care costs for the blue-collar workers.
According to the city's offer, if District Council 33 opted for a $1,100 bonus, the city would continue to pay a $976 monthly contribution for each union member.
Alternatively, if the union opted for a $1,500 bonus, the city would cut what it paid toward health care by $36 a month, and put that that money - a total of about $4 million a year - toward the bonus.
Either way, the net cost to the city for a bonus would be about $10 million.
The city said members' health benefits would not be affected if the city lowered its contribution because there were sufficient surplus funds in the union's health and welfare fund to last throughout the fiscal year.
The two sides are expected to hold another collective bargaining session this afternoon.
Yesterday, District Council 33 President Herman "Pete" Matthews did not return a call. Nutter, through his spokesman, also declined to comment on the negotiations.
But at least one veteran of city labor talks was not surprised to hear that District Council 33 refused the city offer in light of the police award.
