Hundreds of NYPD sergeants are expected to protest outside New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ upcoming “State of the City” address over a bizarre contract impasse that’s left some sergeants with less pay than the police officers they supervise, union officials said Tuesday.
The off-duty sergeants, as well as their supporters in the City Council, will converge on the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Thursday, where Mayor Adams will discuss last year’s successes — which includes a 5% reduction in crime — and outline his plans for the next year, the Daily News reports.
“This union has handled itself in a professional manner in trying to negotiate fairly,” Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong told the Daily News Tuesday. “We’ve tried to do it behind closed doors, but all we’re getting is lip service. The mayor has let this fall on deaf ears, so if we’re not on the top of his list, we want him to know that he’s on the top of our list.”
The city’s sergeants haven’t had a contract in two years because of an ongoing wage disparity affecting more than 1,200 supervisors that began when the city increased the salaries of rank-and-file police officers.
After the city boosted salaries of long-serving cops, the SBA union realized that many sergeants are now earning less than the officers they oversee — a situation that makes no sense, Vallelong said.
