Keeping you Informed October 2011
Welcome fellow members of the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society to this month's installment of “keeping you informed”.
First let me congratulate all the winners in last month's election. Election results are posted here on the webpage, if you're receiving this by e-mail just go to www.BPDBS.com and you will see not only election results but several other postings and information. I would also like to take a moment to welcome four new Detectives to our union Sgt. Detectives Tom Foley and Rich Lewis and Detectives Donald Casey and Mike Mylett. With the recent promotion of five of our members to Sgt. we anticipate more Detectives being rated shortly. Two of these promotions have created District Rep vacancies at C-11 and E-18 announcements have been posted in regards to these positions along with a timeline for letters of intent.
Well here it is October 1st, last month we held our Yearly Elections, our Annual Open Meeting, and our Monthly Executive Board meeting. Secretary Dennis Harris has forwarded minutes from the E-board meeting to your representatives. Some of the issues that came up at both the open meeting and the E board meeting were the Quinn Bill, the Casino Bill, and Seaport Jurisdiction. As you may know the matter of the Quinn Bill will be heard next month. The attorneys from all three Police Unions are involved in this, working together. The Casino Bill and the Seaport have some similarities well, maybe just one, questions of jurisdiction and the State Police. Again it's important to note that all three unions’ legislative aides are working together on this lobbying with your best interest at heart. I find it very encouraging for the future of police unions in Boston to know that when it really counts we can and do work together. I think the more we talk with and work with other unions the stronger we all become.
Superintendent Holloway attended the monthly meeting and answered questions regarding training, and the direction he would like to see the Bureau go.
The annual Retirement Banquet is just about three weeks away reply cards should be returned to the Union Hall by October 12. Please send in your reply and scholarship raffle form as soon as possible. If you're not planning to attend but want to give your ticket to someone else please send back your reply with your name and the name of the person using your ticket. If you would like to donate your ticket to retiree or his or her family please note that person’s name on your reply card. Just as a reminder 15 detectives and 2 senior criminalists will be honored this year. The names of the retirees are listed on the website in the section titled 30th Annual Retirement Banquet. I hope you will come out and wish all of our retirees“Good Luck” as we honor them at the banquet. Just as we have in the past, this year's Detective of the Year award will be presented at the banquet. Congratulations to this year's recipient Detective Brian Black (homicide unit). On a personal note, I would like to thank the Awards Committee for their hard work and dedication. Being a former member of the committee I can appreciate all that goes into the decisions they make. The Awards Committee hopes to hold a quarterly award ceremony in November.
The Grievance Committee continues to respond to issues involving the occupational health unit. Please remember if you get hurt at work go to the hospital and get checked out, file the required paperwork and ensure your supervisor does the same. 95% of our grievances involve occupational health and documentation is important in processing these grievances. So I repeat please document the incident and file the paperwork accordingly. One final note in regards to occupational health it is our understanding that Dr Scott has retired. There are some grievance issues pending, these matters have been decided and they have been decided in favor of the BPDBS however, we still wait for payment. Also still pending is the decision on take-home cars. As you may recall I reported to you that a decision was reached and it was being written up we are now hearing it should be out sometime before Thanksgiving. For those of you awaiting settlements and decisions we understand and appreciate your frustration and are constantly making calls and sending e-mails and writing letters to get these issues resolved.
The long process of bargaining with the city continues. Your Bargaining Committee is hard at work with the hopes of bringing back a suitable contract. As in the past while in the process of bargaining, information has to remain confidential within the committee. Let me just repeat, your Bargaining Committee is working hard to bring back the contract you deserve.
Gerry and I hope to start up our “Town Meetings” again sometime after November. We had a lot of success getting the word out and the addition of the town meetings can only further that cause. I have referred to the website a couple of times in this article there is a lot of information posted on the site. Jerry and I have tried to keep it updated and as informative as possible. We welcome any suggestions you may have to make it better. Please pass the word to your co-workers WWW.BPDBS.COM to get the latest information regarding you union
Finally, one year ago I made a promise to you, to work hard for you and for our union. As I look forward to the next two years I want to restate that promise. I want to assure you that as your Vice President I will continue to work hard and be responsive to the needs of the individual and the union. I look forward to the challenges ahead and “keeping you informed”.
Fraternally
Tom Famolare.
