Fresh Intel: The Weekly Roundup
Weekly News Roundup submitted by Ron DeLord
News and commentary impacting police, deputies, corrections, fire, emergency services and public employees throughout the United States. You can access the full article by clicking on the link. Articles are archived on my web page for those searching for information on a particular topic. The posting of an article does NOT reflect my opinion.
Find more police, fire, and public employee labor news from Ron on Twitter @RonDeLord
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SCOTUS is About to Bring Down a Hammer on Public Sector Unions
Sometime during the next few months, the US Supreme Court will issue a decision that could profoundly weaken public employee unions across the country. By all accounts, the justices — in the oral argument in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association — signaled that they are poised to rule that workers’ payment of dues to public sector unions must be voluntary. READ MORE
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Can Labor Support Black Lives Matter and Police Unions?
As union members gathered in the nation’s capital over the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend, some of the country’s top labor leaders faced tough questions about how the movement can reconcile its support for racial justice with its embrace of police unions. Over the last year, the AFL-CIO, America’s largest federation of unions, has faced calls from some in its membership to end its affiliation with the International Union of Police Associations.
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Public Sector Unions are Under Threat. Police Unions May be a Different Story
The face of the case that could cripple public sector unions, argued earlier this week at the Supreme Court, is a blonde, curly-haired elementary school teacher from Orange County. READ MORE
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Taylor Mayor Denied Right to Use Police Union’s Specialized Plate
MICHIGAN – Taylor Mayor Rick Sollars has had a specialized license plate revoked by the Secretary of State after a whistleblower reportedly alerted the Police Officers Association of Michigan that he was a non-member using their plate.
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City Council Must Nix Detectives’ Contract
It’s a story we’ve grown accustomed to in Boston. Another arbitrator has granted another outsized raise to another Boston public-safety union. In this instance, it was the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society, which recently won an arbitration award of 28.7 percent over six years. READ MORE
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Rivard: The Police Union’s Fatally Flawed Strategy
“You get what you pay for” might be cliché, but such truisms are often deeply rooted in history and experience. That’s why City Manager Sheryl Sculley is worth every penny she is paid, and why so many other high performers in public life also are highly compensated for good reason.
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Officers Leave Amid Boos at SF Police Commission Meeting on Fatal OIS
SAN FRANCISCO — Dozens of members of the San Francisco Police Officers Association packed the Police Commission meeting Wednesday night, heeding a call from the union president to show support for the five officers involved in the fatal shooting of Mario Woods. Within an hour, and with just three officers being able to speak, they left, trailing out of the room en masse to the same boos and jeers that drowned out much of the officers’ comments.
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Union Representing LAPD Links Crime Surge to Chief Beck’s Failed Policies
The union representing the rank-and-file in the Los Angeles Police Department unleashed a barely concealed attack on police Chief Charlie Beck today, linking his policies to a surge in crime. “The Los Angeles Police Protective League will formally request that the Los Angeles City Council’s Public Safety Committee immediately hold public hearings to determine the effectiveness of Chief Beck’s current crime reducing efforts and what he proposes to do to reduce the dramatic rise in crime,” a statement said, announcing a late-morning news conference by two of the union’s directors. READ MORE
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Hawaii Police Union Asks State to Stop Kauai Body Camera Use
Hawaii’s statewide police union wants Kauai officers to turn off their body-worn cameras and put them back on the shelf, at least temporarily. The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers filed a complaint last week with the stateLabor Relations Board saying that the union should have had final say on Kauai’s body camera policy since it affects work conditions for its membership. READ MORE
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NYPD Cracks Down on Counties That Poach City Police Officers
The NYPD began sending bills to a handful of New York state municipalities that hired three city cops who recently graduated from the academy, the Daily News has learned. The cops all resigned from the NYPD just months after their December graduation to take jobs as officers in counties outside the city, officials said. READ MORE
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Dallas Police to Offer Cops Training Instead of Minor Discipline
Dallas cops, just like the people they arrest, don’t want a record. Officers with disciplinary infractions could lose out on desirable jobs and promotions, or get transferred to worse duties. Now, the department will offer cops a chance at wiping one minor violation off their record every two years. Some of the eligible offenses include being late, missing court and being rude.
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CA Pension Overhaul Backers Won’t Aim for 2016 Ballot
Proponents of voter initiatives to curb public pensions in California said Monday they will no longer try to get a measure on the ballot this year. Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio said they will instead pursue a ballot measure in November 2018, when they expect a more favorable political environment.
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For English Cop, Detroit’s Streets are a Culture Shock
As a police officer in England, Michael Matthews doesn’t carry a gun — but while on a recent ride-along with Detroit cops, he says there were times he wished he was packing. Detroit’s rampant violence, “Third World poverty,” and the availability of firearms aren’t as prevalent in his homeland, said Matthews, a 41-year-old Scotland Yard cop. READ MORE
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Modesto Chamber Looks for Bigger Role in Public Safety Discussions
The Modesto Chamber of Commerce wants to have more of a voice in the discussion over how the city solves its public safety challenges, such as cutting into the crime rate and finding the money to hire more police officers and firefighters.
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Advocates in Baltimore Hope for Police Reform—Finally—from Annapolis
Four days before Martin Luther King Day, a year ago, a coalition of activists, organizations and residents marched in Annapolis to demand legislation ensuring greater accountability for law enforcement before the citizens of Maryland. When the session closed on April 13, 2015, not a single substantive change to laws impacting police discipline or accountability had passed, with a number of attempts dying in committee and never receiving a vote. READ MORE
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City Will Pay LAPD Officer Nearly $1M to End Lawsuit Over Ticket Quotas
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday agreed to pay nearly $1 million to a former Westside motorcycle officer who said the Police Department retaliated against him for not participating in an illegal traffic ticket quota system. READ MORE
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The Destruction of Progressive Wisconsin
Shortly after his exit from an abbreviated presidential run last fall, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin returned to a more successful undertaking: dismantling what remains of his state’s century-old progressive legacy. Last month, Mr. Walker signed a bill that allowed corporations to donate directly to political parties. READ MORE
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Why Some States Want Stronger Public-Sector Unions
As argument commenced at the Supreme Court last Monday, most eyes were on Justice Antonin Scalia. While still the Court’s conservative paterfamilias, union supporters were looking to Scalia as a potential swing vote in their favor in the case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association.
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County to Move New Hires Into 401(K)-style Pension Plan
GEORGIA – No Whitfield County employee will see any changes to their benefits, but the county plans to provide a different set of benefits to employees hired after Feb. 1. “I want to make that clear,” said Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Babb. “We have 500 employees we have made promises to. We are going to keep our promises to those people. That’s the right and fair thing to do.”
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Akron Police Officer Wins $30,000 Settlement in Lawsuit Against Chief, City
AKRON, Ohio — A longtime Akron police officer won a $30,000 settlement against the city after claiming the police chief demoted him in retaliation for writing about police use-of-force cases in the union’s private newsletter. The city agreed to pay 26-year veteran officer Kevin Davis and the police union. Police Chief James Nice also reinstated Davis in the department’s training division and wrote Davis a short apology for improperly demoting him. READ MORE
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Fort Collins Police Integrate Mental Illness Training With Use-of-Force Training
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – When a man pulled a knife outside a Fort Collins coffee shop on Tuesday, police were ready to use a pepper gun, if necessary. Instead, they were able to talk the suspect into dropping his knife. “It’s a challenge for officers,” said Kate Kimble, public relations manager for Fort Collins Police Services. READ MORE
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Private Security Guards Patrol Some Streets in the Hague
Private security guards are patrolling parts of The Hague this winter, dealing with issues which the police have no time to cover, the AD says on Friday. Schilderswijk and Moerwijk are among the parts of the city where private security guards have been put to work. READ MORE
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