Dear COBA Members;

COBA was notified that the New York State Appellate Court, 2nd Dept issued their decisions in the Appeals brought by the County in the Longevity cases against COBA, CSEA and the PD-SOA.

In their decision they reached the same conclusion as they did in the PBA and DAI (PD Detectives) cases, stating that the County must resolve their disputes with the Unions through the Arbitration process.

We are still unaware of why the Court separated these cases, but that is now a moot point as all the Unions are back on equal footing in this matter.

Going forward, COBA is working together with the PBA, SOA, DAI and CSEA on this Longevity case and will request that one Arbitrator be chosen to hear all 5 cases consolidated instead of 5 different arbitrators for all the different Unions which could serve to muddy the waters even further with potentially 5 different decisions.

We will keep you informed as matters progress with this case and once the Arbitration question has been finalized.

Please keep in mind that there are other hurdles to possibly get over, not the least of which is NIFA sticking their nose in this issue at some point.

Stay safe,

Always in Unity;

Brian Sullivan, COBA President