The first phase of arbitration for the Milwaukee Police Association’s 2023-25 contract is set to wrap up Sept. 25.
The Milwaukee Police Association, the union that represents about 1,300 members of the Milwaukee Police Department, has been in repeated delayed negotiations with the city of Milwaukee for years, culminating in the start of arbitration beginning Sept. 22.
It’s possible that no contract will be decided upon before 2026 — at which time the union and the city will likely be due to negotiate for the next contract.
Arbitration is a process where a third party makes a final decision on the contract’s specifics. Milwaukee Police Association President Alex Ayala said the arbitrator deciding the police union’s contract was selected through a process involving input from both the union and the city, from a list of possible arbitrators provided by the state.
Ayala said the police union presented its case this week, and the city will present its proposal to the arbitrator in October. The arbitrator then will have 60 to 90 days to make a decision.
Both parties agreed negotiatons for the next contract will not start for an additional 45 days after the arbitrator’s decision, Ayala said.
Here’s what to know about the ongoing negotiations:
What are the proposals from each side?
The union’s proposed contract includes a 4.5% wage increase per year between 2023 and 2024, with a 3.75% increase in the first half of 2025, which would be applied retroactively within 60 days of an arbitrator’s decision.
In total, it’s a 12.75% wage adjustment spread out across three years, which the union says is in line with inflation, and comparable to other communities’ wages.
The city, on the other hand, proposed a 5% wage increase on 2023 salaries, with no retroactive backpay. Then, in 2024 and 2025, it proposed 2% raises each year, including the backpay.
According to the city of Milwaukee’s website, the current salary range for a Milwaukee police officer is between $63,534.69 and $84,743.87, with annual pay raises in the first five years.
Why is a soon-expiring, 3-year contract still being negotiated?
The arbitration is to decide on the police union’s contract from 2023 through 2025 — which expires in just over three months.
Negotiations have been repeatedly delayed. A primary reason for the initial delay was the negotiations over Wisconsin Act 12 — state legislation that mandated the city grow its number of officers after budget cuts in years past.
This was considered a major win for law enforcement, Ayala said in July.
Ayala said the union and the city agreed to pause negotiations until after Act 12 was passed in June 2023. After that, the city’s labor negotiator switched to a different role and further staffing changes continued to delay the negotiation process.
Since then, the assistant city attorney working on the negotiations also left for a new role. That led to the city hiring outside legal counsel as a way to “keep the process on track,” the mayor’s spokesperson, Jeff Fleming, previously told the Journal Sentinel.
On July 28, the city’s Judiciary and Legislation committee moved a resolution forward to spend $50,000 on outside legal counsel for the negotiations.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman talks about gun violence prevention at his office in Milwaukee on July 29, 2025.
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What has each side said about the negotiations?
In July, the Milwaukee Police Association posted a scathing statement on Facebook calling the city’s proposal “an offer so insulting, so out of touch with reality, it should be an embarrassment to City leadership.”
In the statement, the union says its offer is “modest and responsible,” and in line with inflation.
In comparison with what it considers an unfair proposal by the city, the union pointed out that Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, who was reappointed in June, has a new contract beginning Nov. 15 that increases his salary around 37%, from about $177,000 to $243,000.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and common council members will each receive 15% pay raises under their new contracts, from around $147,000 to $169,000, and $73,000 to $84,000, respectively, the union also noted.
“Our officers have been working without a contract and without any raise for two and a half years — serving this community every single day, responding to violence, putting themselves in harm’s way, and doing it with professionalism and pride,” the union’s statement reads. “Our officers deserve better — and so does Milwaukee.”
In contrast, the City of Milwaukee has maintained that it has officers’ and the city’s best interests in mind.
Fleming told the Journal Sentinel in an email that “nothing nefarious” is going on, and that the city shares the Milwaukee Police Association’s goals to reach an agreement on a contract as soon as possible.
What have public reactions been like to the negotiations?
While the police union is adamant the city needs to provide them raises, some community advocates have spoken out, arguing the police department already takes up a significant amount of the city’s budget.
Counterprotestors spoke out about these concerns at a Milwaukee Police Association protest Sept. 5. They also criticized Ayala’s statements that Milwaukee police would consider asking the Trump administration to send the National Guard to Milwaukee.
Among those criticizing the police union were members of Black Leaders Organizing Communities, Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Voces de la Frontera.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Milwaukee police union’s contract negotiations