Editorial : Campus safety should factor into potential changes to DPS pay, benefits

Department of Public Safety officers plan to press Syracuse University for more benefits, including more time off from work and higher pay, through their newly formed union. DPS officers make a base salary that is 33 percent less than that of area law enforcement.

Forming a union marks a great first step for DPS officers to ask for more equitable pay and benefits from SU. But because the officers’ salaries come from SU and not the public, the decisions regarding benefits belong in a university context rather than compared to the salaries or benefits of city or state officers.

The university overhauled faculty and staff benefits less than a year ago to make them financially sustainable, university administrators said. The administration has already shown concern for a strained and increasingly expensive benefits budget. Thus, any gains the new union makes must have more long-term results than equity in comparison to city or other public law enforcement.

Campus safety ranks as one of SU’s greatest challenges and students’ greatest concerns. There are a lot of reasons to support increased pay and more time off for DPS officers if it will ensure more efficiency in the department and increase safety on campus.