PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh’s police union is refusing to take part in contract negotiations until the city’s Chief Operating Officer is removed from the city’s negotiation team.
Per a letter Robert Swartzwelder, President of Pittsburgh’s Fraternal Order of Police, sent to Mayor Gainey, the request for Lisa Frank’s removal comes amid difficulties in starting 2026 contract negotiations.
Swartzwelder says in a letter dated Feb. 6, the mayor agreed to begin negotiations “as soon as possible,” and the first meeting was set for April 23. But, he claims the FOP was notified Monday “that a meeting which required 97 days to take place was cancelled without explanation.”
Then, on Wednesday, the day the meeting was originally scheduled, Swartzwelder said the FOP learned of “horrible tweets” from Frank.
Screenshots of Frank’s social media posts or comments from 2020 are included in the letter. In one post, she writes “when we defund the police...” then suggests other jobs they should consider. In another, she asks “why do we continue to fund these police departments?”
“A plain reading of these tweets clearly indicates that the incremental defunding and staff reductions of the police department by your administration follow this strategic plan outlined by Ms. Frank in her very public tweets,” Swartzwelder says in the letter.
Swartzwelder says the FOP will not negotiate “with a Mayoral designee who thinks so poorly of the police.” He asks Mayor Gainey to appoint a new designee for negotiations, or the FOP will begin planning for arbitration.
“As stated in the January 15, 2025 letter the FOP looks forward to negotiating a successor agreement in good faith, with respect, representing the hard-working women and men of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police who are members of the FOP. These officers tirelessly perform a thankless job while facing the inherent dangers of a severely understaffed and poorly funded police department for which, it seems, your Chief Operating Officer has successfully orchestrated under your watch,” Swartzwelder wrote to close the letter.
Frank issued a statement stating the tweets in question were made at the height of protests following the murder of George Floyd, and that her views have evolved since then. The full statement reads:
“These are tweets from five years ago made at the height of the protests following the murder of George Floyd. Since then, and especially since beginning my service to the City of Pittsburgh, where I have had the opportunity to work closely with the Bureau of Police, my views have evolved in response to first hand experience, as we’ve been able to rebuild trust through community policing and significantly reduce homicides and gun violence in our community.”
Channel 11 contacted Mayor Gainey’s office about this request, and we were told that they’re looking into the issue.
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