keeping you informed for 2011

Hello again fellow members of the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society and welcome to the last installment of keeping you informed for 2011.

It’s been quite a year and with your permission I’ll use this addition as a recap.

All year long I’ve have been reporting to you that your grievance committee has been hard at work.  A total of 14 grievances were filed this year several are moving to arbitration some are still in the step II or III process,

The most recent involves the transfer of a sitting union representative being transferred from his unit. The reason for the transfer... I guess we’ll know for sure if and when this matter goes to arbitration. Please remember timing is everything and information is invaluable. In the past a lot of grievances were “discussed and verbally agreed to” I can tell you without hesitation that’s not how we do business now. The days of “we can work this out” are over, our message is clear “Put it in Writing” Recent decisions could have gone differently if more discussions were reduced to writing. If you believe you have a grievance contact your Rep. The first step in the process is at the unit level. If an issue can’t be worked out there then we go forward with Step II. Prior to step II you will be asked to put the facts of your grievance in writing, the reason for this, the more information we have the better we can present your case. Contact your Rep ASAP if you feel you have a grievance.

Since my last emailing /posting the Quinn Bill issue was heard at the SJC, based on the calls to the union hall it seems a lot of folks watched online. Some of the calls we received were inquiries as to what we thought and when we could expect a decision.  Unfortunately  we can’t say for sure when we will get a decision the SJC has their schedule rest assure when the decision does come down we will get that information out to you ASAP. As to our thoughts, personally I thought we were well represented I think Attorney Decker handled the questions put to him very well and responded respectfully and factually. Our attorney spoke from the perspective of the law while the City Attorney stated, “She thought”” She believed”. As for funding I guess and again this is my opinion I am not an attorney if the Judges can’t get past that then I hope they would consider any of the following. Rule on the law and restore the Quinn with retro, Rule on the law Restore the Quinn (no retro or damages) Restore the Quinn deny Treble Damages. We don’t know what they are going to do but we know what we’ve done. Bottom line we said we would take this all the way and we did.

The issue of take home cars has been decided and like you we are not happy. I think if you read the decision and look again at our philosophy now you will understand why we are demanding that agreements are reduced to writing. In a perfect world 2 people could sit down and discuss these issues and come up with the same conclusions sadly that doesn’t always happen the best way to avoid any confusion WRITE IT DOWN. There has been some talk about who should be held accountable for this loss and what should be done.  Let me caution you not to let your anger get the best of you .We must learn from the mistakes of others and not repeat them.

I want to remind you all again. If you are contacted by Internal Affairs and asked to come in for an interview or to submit a report CALL US. You are entitled to representation use it. If you are asked for a report, take the time to allow your FOP attorney to review or discuss your report with you before you submit it. We have had great success with our Legal Defense Plan normally the turnaround time from a call to the Union Hall to call back from our attorneys has been less than an hour. So please remember your dues pay for legal representation, use it.

The matter of the Seaport is still very much alive Gerry this past month testified at the state house along with members of the BPPA and SOF in regards to jurisdiction. This testimony came on the heels of establishing jurisdictional policies in the gambling bill as you know local law enforcement will have jurisdiction in the areas surrounding casinos.
The leadership of the BPDBS would like to acknowledge and congratulate the following members of our union and all the Department members who received medals or awards at this year’s Boston Police Relief Association Ball held on December 4th 2011. Along with members of this union who were recipients of the Hanna Awards presented this past month at the State House

The Department Medal of Honor in Memory of Walter Scott awarded to Detective Christopher Morrero and Detective Todd Hartgrove
The Department Medal of Honor in Memory of Detective Sherman Griffiths awarded to Detective Stephen McManus
The Department Medal of Honor in Memory of Detective John Mulligan awarded to Detective Michael Kane
Commissioners Special Citation awarded to Detective Greg Brown.
Hanna Award Recipients.
Sgt Det. Thomas Foley, and Detectives Paul Schroeder, and Stephen Beath.

I’m sure there is no need to remind you that Christmas school vacations are just a few weeks away for those of you with Children or Grandchildren FREE PASSES to the Aquarium and Children’s Museum are available through the Union. Information is posted on the website or you can contact Jen at the Union Hall or via email. Due to a scheduling conflict we are unable to host A Christmas party for our kids however we are in the process of planning a Pizza Party for the kids during the February school vacation. We would appreciate any feedback we could get on this idea as we are still in the planning stages please email me with your thoughts.

Final thoughts for the year.
I think it’s fair to say that we as a union have come a long way this past year we’ve accomplished a lot in regards to working together within our own union and with other unions (Police and City Wide). We must continue to work together with and for each other we must stand as a union. The commitment of your leadership to keep you informed as always is our priority now and in the future.
On behalf of Gerry and all of the BPDBS leadership I wish you all Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Safe and Healthy New Year
Tommy