PHARR — Pharr police won final approval on their new two-year contract from the city commission Tuesday night, but they could soon face a challenge to their collective bargaining rights.
Mayor Leo "Polo" Palacios reiterated comments made earlier this month that he would push the collective bargaining issue back onto the ballot for the May city election, only a year after voters approved police unions’ right to negotiate contracts with the city.
"I don’t think we need it," Palacios said. "We need to do what we need to do for the good of the entire city, not just the police.
"These are people that are very well paid… there are 300 other employees, some of whom are making less than $20,000 a year."
For Pharr police officers, Tuesday’s decision ends their first go-around at the negotiating table and a lengthy stalemate with the city on the issue of salary increases.
Last week, police union representatives came to a tentative agreement with the city for a patrol officers’ raise worth more than a $1,000 this year and $1,000 next year, part of a salary increase package that will cost the city roughly $200,000.
But following that meeting, Palacios said he wasn’t sure whether he would support the contract, which had to go before the city commission for final approval.
Palacios did vote yes on the contract Tuesday, but he also invited the president of the second and smaller Pharr police union, Jorge Luis Garcia of the Rio Grande Valley Police Association’s Pharr chapter, to address the commission.
Garcia has been critical of how Pharr Police Officers Association, the larger union, has handled negotiations with the city.
"Initially we were in support of (PPA), but considering how everything was prolonged and the tactics used at the negotiating table, we don’t anymore," Garcia said.
PPA President Miguel Hernandez shot back at Garcia’s criticism.
"I think this was the best contract that we could obtain right now," he said. "You’re not going to make everyone happy.
"We’re the bigger union, and we’re the ones in charge."
The eleventh-hour squabble between the unions did have some impact on the final vote Tuesday.
After Garcia’s speech, City Commissioners Raul Gonzalez and Ricardo Medina voted against the contract.
"They should have come together on this," said Gonzalez, a former city firefighter. "(Garcia) was very emotional up there, and that should tell you something.
"This bickering, it doesn’t help the city or the department. When people feel they’re not getting their say, you’ll have low morale."
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James Osborne covers PSJA and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4428.