Massachusetts City Police Proposal To Grant Holiday Pay For Sept. 11 Generates Controversy

October 23, 2008 7:56 a.m. EST

Peabody, MA (AHN) - A proposed new contract between Peabody City in Massachusetts and the police union is generating controversy over the grant of holiday pay for officers who report for work on Sept. 11.

A 25 percent premium is proposed for officers who will work on the anniversary of the 9/11 attack.

According to the International Brotherhood of Police Officers and the International Union of Police Associations, no other city in the U.S. has a similar provision in their contracts. In contrast, the New York Police Department, from where 23 officers died during the World Trade Center attack, does not recognize Sept. 11 as a paid holiday. A union representing 24,000 NYPD previously attempted but failed in their effort to get extra pay on the anniversary of 9/11.

Manny Costa, president of the Peabody police union, said a holiday provision for the 9/11 anniversary would be a proper way to honor and remember the tragic day which have claimed thousands of innocent Americans. He added although no Peabody officer was killed in the attack, some of them went to New York and helped.

Wayne Nichols, whose fiancée was a flight attendant in one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, called the holiday pay proposal exploitative although he did not oppose it being recognized as a day of remembrance.

Some Peabody city councilors vowed to block the provision. Aside from the holiday pay for Sept. 11, the proposed contract seeks to grant Peabody police union members a 13 percent salary increase over the next four years.