Albany police vote to leave Council 82
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ALBANY – The city’s police officers decisively voted 133 to 55 to form an independent PBA, clearing the way for the department’s rank and file to break away from Council 82 and negotiate a new contract.
Mike Delano, one of the officers who led the fight to form an independent bargaining unit, confirmed the vote on Tuesday.
The next steps are for the PBA to elect its executive board and, once the vote is approved by the state Public Employee Relations Board, move toward opening contract negotiations with the city.
Delano said the two-and-a-half year fight wouldn't have been possible without the Janus decision, a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that said public sector unions cannot collect fees from non-union members. The PBA members were able to withhold their money from Council 82 and use it to fund their legal fight to break away.