By Adam Swift
The city council unanimously approved the appropriations to fund new contracts with the Revere Police Patrol Officers and Superior Officers unions on Monday night.
The contracts are retroactive to July 1, 2024 and run through June 30, 2027. In addition to annual salary increases of 2 to 3 percent for each year of the contract, it also sets in motion a Four and Four schedule for the patrol and superior officers.
The schedule, dependent upon the full implementation of new time and attendance software, calls for four 10-hour shifts in a row followed by four days off. The schedule change is something that union representatives said they have been pushing for for several years.
“We are happy to present, after nine months of intense negotiations … that we were able to reach an agreement with both the Patrol Officers and the Superior Officers unions,” Mayor Patrick Keefe said during the council meeting. “I just want to say that we heard the plight from the police department and we also understand that it is a changing workforce, and that it has been for a number of years. We look to serve the needs of that changing workforce to make sure that Revere is an advantageous community to work in, because we know that when we have a good working police department, it is going to reflect positively on the representation we see on the streets, the interactions we see with our young adults, and of course, the protection they provide to all of our homeowners, travelers, and business owners.”
Police Sgt. Joe Internicola spoke in support of the agreements.
“After eight to nine very long months of negotiations, we were able to come out with a fair deal for both the city of Revere and the police department,” he said. “We discussed the needs of the current workforce and the demands of our officers, and Mayor Keefe and his administration recognized the call for support to our department and delivered on a promise to invest not only in the quality of our working conditions, but our quality of life, which in turn will be to the betterment of the community’s safety.”
Internicola said the change in the schedule is a big deal for the department and the city.
“Some of us have been advocating for this for over 13 years to get this done,” he said. “With this administration here today, we couldn’t be more happy with this for everyone involved.”
Several councillors praised both the unions and the mayoral administration for working together on the contract settlements.
“This kind of collaboration is getting to be routine up here, and that is very good,” said Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto.
Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro said the new contracts and the schedule change will benefit the city.
“But mostly, it’s going to benefit our police officers,” he said. “You guys do way more than most people know about.”
