Regarding layoffs (and union contracts in general) that's the root of one of the problems. Once an agency (or company) gets top-heavy with supervisors (but still union - at some places the supervisors are non-union - not sure where that point is in TFD or TPD) you can't get an effective cut.
The higher ups have their 20 years in, so if you try to lay them off, they retire instead (and still get a sizable percentage of their pay). Plus the union says the newest guy goes first. Hypothetical numbers follow: If you have a captain at 80k at 30 years, a major at 60k and 25 years, an LT at 50k and 20 years and 3 beat cops (varying experience) making 35-45k but all under retirement cutoff. If you are a non-union company, you "RIF" from the top down and save 190k, then promote one of the other 3. But if you're union, first, you can't pink slip the brass - even if you could, they still "make" at least 1/2 in their retirement, so you only saved 70k. Fire 3 brass and you can pay 2 beat cops. Besides, the bottom up layoff means instead you lay off all 3 "workers" and only save 120k in wages.
In the union case, the three from the bottom saves "more" than all 3 from the top because of the pension situation, but in the non-union world, the top down makes more sense. Unfortunately, the contracts won't let you do it that way. Even if you "bust" the union, those that are retirement eligible will just do so, and under the "old" contract. Law says you have to honor that contract (and rightly so - the "mistake" was letting it go that far in the first place - if you can't afford, or don't need supervisors, don't promote them in the first place if you can't trim them back later).
That was KT's mistake (and probably the two prior mayors before her). Strong Chiefs in both departments, and strong unions, coupled with weak mayors and good economies made it easy for the depts. and unions to push raises and promotions along with cushy pensions. Then the economy goes south, and there is no way to "make good" on the contracts without bankrupting the organization. In this case it's the city, but this basic problem is what is dragging down GM and Chrysler, too. The only way to "correct" it is to never let it happen, or to file bankruptcy (which lets a judge re-write all the contracts based on "current assets" - which royally screws the pensioners (and they don't deserve that - remember they were beat cops and smoke eaters who "made it" up the ladder of success!
And you don't even want to see what happens when a city declares bankruptcy.
