City of Milwaukee, police union reach tentative agreement

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and the Milwaukee Police Association jointly announced Tuesday, Oct. 21, a tentative, voluntary agreement has been reached between the MPA and the City of Milwaukee regarding the outstanding labor agreement.

The new contract, would cover a majority of the Milwaukee Police Department’s law enforcement officers.

The two sides had been locked in a tense arbitration process that comes after months of negotiations hit a standstill.

The announcement came as a surprise after months of bitter attacks that often went personal.

The terms of the agreement were not immediately released. And the deal still needs to be ratified by the police union members and by the Milwaukee Common Council.

But assuming both those bodies approve, the bitter negotiations that consumed most of the past three years will be over.

Milwaukee police officers have been working without a contract since the start of 2023. The two sides were locked in a bitter negotiation that in recent months had seemingly turned into a personal battle between Mayor Johnson and MPA President Alexander Ayala.

Negotiations hit a roadblock in September. With a standstill imminent, the rhetoric ramped up.

Whatever deal was reached Tuesday will determine how nearly three years of back pay will paid out.

The previous final offers differed on the size and timing of raises, which amounted to a difference of millions of dollars.

The two sides went through a first round of arbitration hearings in September. A second round of hearings was to start soon, with the arbitrator's decision expected sometime in January.

Instead, the tentative deal could be approved much more quickly than expected.

It's unclear when the union will hold a ratification vote; messages to union officials were not returned.

A city official says the Common Council will likely wait for the union to approve first before scheduling a city vote.

We're told that could be late November at the earliest.

This is a developing story. Stick with CBS 58 on-air and online for updates.