Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5

Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 (FOP Lodge 5) is the collective bargaining representative of rank-and-file officers of the Philadelphia Police Department and of deputies in the Sheriff's Office. It is one of the most politically visible unions in the city, with a long record of endorsing candidates and opposing proposals it views as threatening members' due process rights.^[1]

1 Leadership

The lodge's website lists Roosevelt L. Poplar as president. John McNesby led the lodge for many years before him. The lodge is a fraternal organization with an elected executive board; its website describes a headquarters in Northeast Philadelphia since 2013 that includes a gym, event spaces and a members-only restaurant and bar, and it posts the contract, the fiscal 2026 pay schedule, grievance information and legal-services information for members.^[2]

2 Bargaining under Act 111

Police officers cannot strike in Pennsylvania. Under Act 111 of 1968, unresolved contract issues go to a tripartite interest arbitration panel whose award binds the city and the union; see Public Sector Bargaining in Pennsylvania. As a result, FOP contracts are commonly known as "awards." The city's bargaining team works with the Law Department and the Office of Human Resources, and the cost must fit the five-year plan reviewed by PICA.

3 The 2025 award

On August 15, 2025, Mayor Cherelle Parker and other city officials announced a two-year interest arbitration award for Lodge 5. According to the city's announcement, it provides 3 percent wage increases in Fiscal 2026 and in Fiscal 2027; a one-time $3,000 cash bonus payable within 30 days; and economic adjustments tied to "civilianization," a process of shifting positions that do not involve law-enforcement duties to non-law-enforcement staff, including increases in a longevity pay scale intended to encourage officer retention. The mayor said at the press conference that the award would cost $343 million over the city's current Five-Year Plan.^[3]

The announcement does not give a combined percentage for the civilianization adjustments. In July 2026 the Philadelphia Inquirer, comparing the police and firefighter awards, reported that police received about 9 percent over the two years, plus the bonus, with the gap above 3 percent a year attributed to the civilianization-linked raises. Because the city lists 3 percent annual increases and longevity adjustments separately, the two descriptions should be read together rather than as competing figures; the award itself is the controlling document.^[3]

4 Discipline, oversight and controversies

The FOP contract and arbitration process govern how officers are disciplined and how firings are appealed. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2019 that between 2011 and 2019 arbitration overturned or reduced discipline in about 70 percent of the cases it examined, and reported in 2024 that arbitrators reinstated 85 percent of fired officers whose terminations the FOP contested between 2022 and early 2024. According to City & State and Inquirer reporting in 2025, the arbitration panel declined the union's proposal to exclude the Citizens Police Oversight Commission from the contract and did not adopt the rollbacks of transparency measures the union had sought; the only discipline-related change reported was making reinstatement contingent on completion of conditions of employment.^[4] The details are in The FOP Contract and Police Discipline and Police Accountability Systems. The union has said that arbitration protects officers' due process.

5 Political activity

Lodge 5 takes part in endorsements for city and state offices, including races for mayor and District Attorney. Its role in the broader network of unions is covered in Labor and Politics in Philadelphia.

See also: IAFF Local 22, Organized Labor in Philadelphia, Philadelphia AFL-CIO Council.

References

1. FOP Lodge 5, fop5.org ("Philadelphia Police Union & Sheriff Department"); City of Philadelphia, "City announces interest arbitration award with the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5" (August 15, 2025), phila.gov.
2. FOP Lodge 5, "Executive Board" and "Lodge 5," fop5.org (viewed October 2026).
3. City of Philadelphia, "City announces interest arbitration award with the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5" (August 15, 2025), phila.gov; Philadelphia Inquirer, firefighter contract comparison (July 9, 2026).
4. Philadelphia Inquirer, arbitration investigation (September 30, 2019) and reinstatement analysis (February 22, 2024); Axios Philadelphia (February 21, 2024); City & State Pennsylvania on the 2025 award.