Last week the City of Minneapolis announced a tentative agreement for a 2023-2025 collective bargaining agreement with the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis (POFM). Following a 301-63 vote from its members to support the terms, the POFM has advanced a contract agreement that would deliver a historic boost in pay for Minneapolis peace police officers and significant reforms.

“This is a good deal for Minneapolis residents who are counting on this local government to do everything possible to replenish our ranks and deliver on change,” said Mayor Jacob Frey. “After months of hard work, our negotiating team has struck a balanced agreement that will make the department a more competitive employer and provide our chief with the necessary managerial control. This was an all-hands-on-deck effort, and I am hopeful that my Council colleagues will support the agreement.”

The 21.7% pay increase over the three years of the contract would make the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) among the highest paying in Minnesota by 2025.

“The Minneapolis Police Department is made up of some of the most courageous and selfless men and women you will ever meet,” said MPD Chief Brian O’Hara. “This agreement rightly recognizes the sacrifices they regularly make on behalf of our residents. Those members who have chosen to remain serving in MPD have shown their commitment to our residents. Approving this contract will send a message to current and prospective officers that City leaders are committed to them as well.”

Taken together, the proposed changes would enhance transparency, strengthen managerial oversight, and equip MPD management with essential tools to better deploy limited resources and run the department.

The City of Minneapolis’ Labor Relations team and POFM have been at the bargaining table since September 6, 2023.

Key reforms and contractual changes include:

Zipper clause

It is common for parties to a collective bargaining agreement to address issues that arise in the middle of the term of an agreement through one-off letters of agreement (LOAs).

• The City and POFM have, over many decades, entered these LOAs and there has been confusion about which ones were still in effect.  
• In this agreement, the parties have re-looked at those LOAs, decided which ones should still exist, and agreed that only the ones that are actually included as part of the main agreement will continue into the future.  
• This means the City, the Federation, and the public can know the full scope of what has been agreed to in writing at the start of the term of the contract.

Staffing flexibilities

In the past, the collective bargaining agreement has controlled multiple aspects of how MPD assigns work, both in terms of shifts and locations, and mandated numbers of promotions.

• The new agreement will give management more discretion over job assignments and staffing ratios, so that the Chief and his leadership team can assign officers to areas of the greatest need, and make promotions based on candidate readiness, not based upon a mandated percentage.
• The City also negotiated a change to significantly reduce the period of time it takes to fill vacancies.

Civilian investigators

Minneapolis has undertaken the hard work of re-imagining its community safety system, ensuring personnel are being deployed where they’re needed most.

• With fewer sworn personnel serving in MPD, the City has continuously worked to identify opportunities to assign specialized civilian staff to clerical and investigative work and enable officers to be out on the street and present in community, and more available to address critical needs.
• Through the new agreement, the POFM has agreed that the City can make permanent hires of hire civilians for to assist with investigative work. 
• By “civilianizing” work that can be completed by a non-sworn employee, the Chief will be able to keep the limited complement of MPD officers focused on critical safety work.

Public data requests

Officers will no longer receive automatic notification of the identity of the person requesting public personnel data about them.

Leave time period

When there are allegations of severe misconduct, the Chief will have complete discretion to place the officer on paid investigatory leave for up to 180 days. In the past, the Chief only had complete discretion for the first 30 days.

• This gives the Chief more flexibility to take keep an officer off the street while focusing on the investigation.

The full contract is on the City website. It includes a salary schedule.

Next, the City Council must vote to approve or reject the tentative agreement. The council is expected to consider the contract at its June 27 meeting. If the council does not approve the contract, it will move back to mediation.

If approved, the terms would be retroactively applied to Jan. 1, 2023. The contract would expire Dec. 31, 2025.

More information on the City’s contract negotiations with the POFM is available on the City website.