Detectives Union Tightens Its Belt

John FLeming, president of the NYC Detective Investigators Association
After a meeting with their accountants, the New York City Detective Investigators Association decided to cut spending to save money for an upcoming arbitration proceeding, which, as you know, can cost a lot of money. Since everyone at one time or another has had to reduce spending, we thought you would be interested in the list of things this union has put on the chopping block. Here is a letter is written by John Fleming, president of the Detective Investigators Association, to his members, explaining the cutbacks.
August 2015
To the Members:
As you are aware, the DIA is now preparing our arbitration case that will be heard by Mr. Howard Edelman in the fall. As part of that preparation, I met with our accountant to determine if any changes were necessary to maintain the fiscal health of the association. He felt that while the union is in no immediate danger, going forward we should act in a prudent manner to ensure the union has enough reserves to handle any unforeseen expenditures in this calendar year.
During the past five years the union has been forced to spend a great deal of money on legal fees as we were a party to the hearings over who was responsible for bargaining with the union when the City walked away from this role in June 2010. Upon completion of that matter we then had to prepare for mediation, and now arbitration.
At an Executive Board session on July 16, the Board discussed various options to make certain we have ample funds for this arbitration. We immediately ruled out a dues increase or dues assessment as we felt this would only hurt morale even further. It was then determined we would focus on cutting spending.
- The following temporary measures will now be in effect starting August 1, 2015:
- The DIA will suspend all reimbursements for heart scans and full body scans. Now that we have a total wellness program through Mount Sinai, we feel the members have access to the best medical care in the State, and in most cases only need to spend the deductible set by the City health care program.
- The DIA will suspend all reimbursements for legal fees associated with house closing.
- We will suspend all political donations.
- We have adjusted our policy on flower deliveries. In the past, the Board was very liberal in this matter. This is no longer feasible. Going forward each Trustee has been advised that the new policy for flower/fruit baskets will cover the member, the member’s spouse, and member’s children.
- We have eliminated all new orders for union merchandise. The union currently has a large inventory of shirts, key chains, patches, caps, challenge coins. We feel this should hold us over until 2016.
- We are suspending all funding to send new Trustees to Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations.
- We have suspended the 2015 DIA awards ceremony.
- We are canceling all newsletters for 2015 and will rely on our social media sites to communicate with the members. Each member should send me their email address so they can be added to our growing list of members who receive news updates immediately through email “blasts.” Also, our Facebook page and website will routinely have updates about our arbitration.
- We expect to save somewhere between $14,000 and $20,000 by taking these difficult, but necessary measures. We will not cut any funding associated with retirement plaques, fees associated with pension consultation, or eliminate the DIA Foundation that was designed to help members in emergency situations.
Also, I have asked our Secretary-Treasurer Sam Ahdout to coordinate all further matters in this area and to consult with Vice President Jack Freck should there be any issues. I believe this will ensure a fair implementation of this policy.
Fraternally,
John M. Fleming
President
Detective Investigators Association