Whoever said, “A few bad apples can bring the whole place down” knew what they were talking about. Here’s one story that certainly reinforces the that notion. According to The Boston Globe, 20 Massachuetts State Troopers are being investigated for theft of overtime pay. Reporters Mark Arsenault, Travis Andersen, and Shelley Murphy write: “In another black […]
Archive for October, 2016
AZ Gov Vetoes Pro-Cop Bill
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey vetoed legislation this requiring law enforcement agencies to keep the names of officers involved in shootings secret for two months, nixing a bill that was inspired by last year’s events Ferguson, Missouri, and similar incidents around the country. According to USA Today, legislatures around the nation are taking up various pieces […]
Suit Likely if Raises to Retirees Aren’t Paid
Scranton’s police pension board plans to sue the city if members don’t get their raises. Only the pension board has the authority to administer the pension funds, board solicitor Larry Durkin said Wednesday. That means the Pennsylvania city had no right to halt raises based on its claim that the severely distressed funds cannot not […]
Pressure to End Dues Deduction Rises
Tom Mechler, the newly elected chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, is all for passage of SB 1968, a bill that would end the practice of automatic payroll deductions for labor union dues for the majority of public-sector unions in Texas, claiming it will “restore fairness to the negotiating process.” “We don’t think the unions should be […]
Boston Cop Will Pull Through
Boston’s law enforcement community is breathing a huge sigh of relief after it was announced that wounded Boston PD Officer John Moynihan is expected to be moved out of the Intensive Care Unit in the coming days. Moynihan, 34, a six-year veteran of the Boston PD who was honored for his role in the aftermath […]
VIDEO: Helping the Family Left Behind
Paul Kelly, president of the San Jose POA, and his members have organized a fundraising drive to help the family of Officer Michael Johnson (left), who was shot and killed in the line of duty. It was the department’s first line-of-duty death in 14 years. San Francisco County Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said Johnson’s “service and […]
Texas GOP Chair Needs to Hear from You
The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Chairman Tom Mechler said he supports SB 1968, a bill which, if passed, would end the practice of labor union dues from being automatically withheld from the paychecks of government employees. While the bill does include an exception for police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel—whose unions will […]
Texas Supreme Court: No Early Withdrawls
In a landmark decision, the Texas Supreme Court has upheld a controversial ruling that prevents public employees in the city of Houston from cashing in early on their pensions. Below is the press release in full, announcing the decision. — HOUSTON, March 24, 2015 – Baker Botts LLP, a leading international business law firm, announced that on […]
Agencies Turn to Immigrants to Fill Ranks
It’s a growing trend: Law enforcement agencies from Honolulu to Chicago are turning to immigrants to fill the gap. According to an in-depth report in USA Today, whether it’s because of a lack of applicants or a desire to connect with people of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, agencies are allowing green card holders and […]
Bill Could Be Costly for Texas PSUs
A bill filed by Texas State Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) could prove to be the financial death penalty for many public-sector labor unions across the state. According to breitbart.com, the bill—SB 1968—was filed at the very end of the bill filing period for this Legislative Session last Friday, and would end the practice of automatic […]
Florida’s Governor Did What?
From the moment Florida Governor Rick Scott was elected, our friends in Florida have been fighting his efforts to privatize police jobs, cut pay and pensions, lay off cops, and privatize all the state’s prisons. Maybe all that stress has impacted his brain. Otherwise, there is no explaining his recent move to order one of […]
Get Them On Your Side
Great idea from the Dallas PD: Schedule coffee hours with cops and the community, then spread the word via social media. Wonderful opportunity for officers to get to know the people they serve. Even more importantly, it’s an opportunity for them to get to know you better. It’s a win-win. Good idea for your union […]
Location, Location, Location
New Jersey municipalities would be able to require that newly hired police officers and firefighters live within their borders under legislation that’s scheduled for a hearing today. NJ.com reports State Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex) said that he and the rest of Essex County’s Democratic delegation got behind the bill at the urging of Newark Mayor […]
California Workers May Lose Pensions
This is tough reading from the Los Angeles Times, which has run a story with the headline, “California public workers may be at risk of losing promised pensions.” The story reads: “As millions of private employees lost their pension benefits in recent years, government workers rested easy, believing that their promised retirements couldn’t be touched. Now the safety […]
San Jose POA Pension Fight May be Over
A spokesman for San Jose’s police union said Friday that labor and city officials may be closing in on a deal to roll back pension reform Measure B in exchange for cost savings and a resolution to a bitter, years-long legal and political conflict. Tom Saggau, spokesman for the San Jose Police Officers’ Association, told […]
Fight to Preserve Your Pension
More bad news for California law enforcement officers: Chuck Reed, the embattled former mayor of San Jose, has decided to take another crack at destroying the state’s pension program. This time out, he’s reviving a campaign—similar to the one he tried and failed at in San Jose—to slash retirement benefits for California teachers, police officers, […]
ALEC RTW Bills Gaining Momentum
This week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed an anti-union right-to-work (RTW) bill into law. RTW laws require unions to provide the same representation and workplace services to all workers in a workplace but make contributing to the cost of that representation optional. They lead to smaller, weaker unions and lower worker wages and benefits. According […]
VIDEO: *Crickets*
A lot people despise politicians, but rarely do any of them have the opportunity to tell those elected officials what they really think about them (except maybe at the polls). Not so for members of the International Association of Firefighters, who had guts to tell Texas Senator Ted Cruz what they really thought of his views on tax reform—and […]
Unions Under Attack Nationwide
The bad news keeps coming for employee unions and associations whose mission is to fight for better pay, benefits, and work rules for their members. According to the Associated Press, Republican lawmakers in statehouses nationwide are working to weaken organized labor, sometimes with efforts that directly shrink union membership. For example, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker […]
Officers Win Big After PBA Sues
They say battling it out in court should be the last resort: it’s expensive, takes resources away from other important tasks, and you never know what the outcome will be. But there are times it’s the only option, and when the Miami-Dade Mayor decided to veto an impasse hearing, the police union had no choice […]
NJ Troopers Slam Christie With Lawsuit
A group of unions representing New Jersey State Troopers are the first to sue Gov. Chris Christie to force him to make the payment to the state’s public-worker pension system that he agreed to under a contractual agreement with the state’s workers. Christie’s proposed budget, which covers the fiscal year that begins in July, includes […]
VIDEO: Officer Helps Homeless Family
Robert Wood had just returned to Oregon from Alaska with his two young sons, wife and baby-to-be. According to a report from KMTR News, they hadn’t found housing yet, so Wood said he was planning to sleep in the car with the family at Alton Baker Park to save money. That’s where a Eugene Police […]
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