Tentative Milwaukee Police Association deal could attract officers to the force

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — After months of a back and forth between the City of Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Police Association (MPA), both sides just reached a tentative agreement for a new contract, but it's not done yet.

It has been a tense few months as the city and the MPA fought over the union's contract. While they have yet to release the details of the terms, the president of the MPA says he's happy about the current offer.

"It was so close to what we want plus some extra stuff that I think it's good for the members to see it and hopefully they can ratify it," said Milwaukee Police Association President Alexander Ayala. 

The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) has been working without a new contract for more than two-and-a-half years.

Their last labor agreement expired in December 2022.

"The morale goes down obviously we have officers leaving or resigning at a faster pace and then retiring so the fact that we are losing officers," said Ayala.

The agreement only goes through to the end of this year. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson says this deal will end in 2025.

"We will be in negotiations again, pretty soon here after, but it’s still important to get this button up and that’s exactly what we focused on doing," said Mayor Johnson.

While bound by confidentiality by the city and arbitration, Ayala says terms of this offer address future contracts.

"There are some things in this contract that address some of those issues, but I can't speak on the specifics of it, but it will be addressed in this offer," said Ayala.

It's been a long road to get to this point; Ayala says this new deal will attract and retain Milwaukee officers.

"I think this will be a great recruiting tool if this contract is ratified. They're going to be very competitive to other places with this offer," said Ayala.

MPD responded to the announcement in a statement:

"MPD is pleased that there are new developments in the negotiation process resulting in a tentative agreement between the City and our membership. We are grateful for the work that the men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department do to keep our City safe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, weekend and holidays included."

"I hope the city can see the value in the police officers that we have," said Ayala.

The next step in the process is for the MPA's members to vote and ratify the deal. Ayala says that should be done by late next week.