LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The union representing officers throughout the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Division is polling its membership a few potential strike forward of a deliberate improve in Nevada’s retirement contribution price.
Final November, the board overseeing the state-run Public Workers’ Retirement System (PERS) program voted to extend the quantity of pay that state staff, in addition to police and hearth division staff, should contribute.
The board elevated the speed for police and hearth members to 58.75% from 50%. Metro police employs greater than 4,000 sworn officers.
“This means that on the second check in July, your pay will decrease by 4.375%,” Las Vegas Police Protecting Affiliation (LVPPA) union management mentioned in an electronic mail the 8 Information Now Investigators obtained. “We are expected to receive a 2.6% [cost-of-living increase] on July 1. The net reduction in your rate of pay will be 1.9%.”
The e-mail to LVPPA membership features a ballot, asking membership to select from 4 choices: “Commence a strike to start on the 4th of July,” “Exercise your contractual benefit to utilize sick leave starting on the 4th of July,” “Report for duty and refuse to leave the briefing room starting on the 4th of July” or “Do nothing. Report for duty as normal and take the reduction in pay without a fight.”
“Sheriff McMahill does not support this reduction in pay; however, the City of Las Vegas and Clark County fund the LVMPD and must agree to come to the table and find a way to cover the expected reduction in your hourly wage,” the e-mail mentioned. “We do not believe that you should lose any pay, and we truly believe that you should not only have your PERS increase covered but also receive a pay raise.”
LVPPA’s three-year collective bargaining settlement, which expires in July 2026, has language about hanging, which permits a strike authorization in sure circumstances.
LVPPA President Steve Grammas supplied this assertion to eight Information Now:
The LVPPA and LVMPD management have been working collectively for months on attempting to verify no officer at LVMPD takes a pay lower. All of us acknowledge the work our officers have finished and proceed to do and can’t fathom a world the place we see our officers shedding cash on their paycheck, particularly on the heels of one of the vital large inflation hits of our time. The communities officers don’t need to lose cash and actually, ought to get a elevate in pay for the service they supply. The LVPPA name’s on the Metropolis Council and County Fee to do the precise factor and acknowledge the onerous work, dedication, and sacrifices of the women and men at LVMPD. They’ve the flexibility to pay, they’ve already finished so for smaller companies, and LVMPD officers deserve the identical. We urge all of our residents to contact your elected Metropolis Council and County Commissioners and demand that they guarantee no officer at LVMPD takes a lower in pay.
Steve Grammas
Representatives for the Las Vegas Metropolis Council or the Clark County Fee didn’t instantly return requests for remark.
Within the legislative session that ended earlier this month, lawmakers handed and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a invoice that prolonged a property tax to cowl practically 900 police positions throughout Southern Nevada.
The state’s retirement contribution price has lengthy affected staffing on the Nevada State Police. For many years, the division has struggled to maintain up with pay from native police departments and retirement advantages, resulting in a lower in employees. The July improve will primarily erase features from the governor and legislature handed for state police staff simply two years in the past.
Amid the pay hole, some rural substations are empty. The 8 Information Now Investigators first reported on this lack of staffing three years in the past. And on some nights, simply three, 4, possibly 5 state police troopers are patrolling all the Las Vegas valley, an space house to 2.3 million individuals and lots of of 1000’s of vacationers without delay.
Investigator David Charns could be reached at [email protected].
